Israel unveils plan to concentrate Gazans in 'humanitarian city' built over Rafah ruins
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a bilateral dinner with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, the US on July 7. — Reuters
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has unveiled a plan to relocate all Palestinians in Gaza to a tightly controlled camp built on the ruins of Rafah, that could amount to crimes against humanity.
According to a report by Israeli publication Haaretz, Katz said he had instructed the Israeli military to prepare for what he called a “humanitarian city” in Rafah. Palestinians would be subjected to “security screening” before entry and barred from leaving the site, he said during a briefing with Israeli journalists.
Meanwhile, at least 35 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza since dawn, hospital sources told Al Jazeera Arabic on Thursday.
Most of the casualties were reportedly women and children, with the highest number of deaths occurring in central and southern parts of the besieged territory. At least 17 people were killed in the central city of Deir el-Balah.
Katz said the first phase would involve transferring 600,000 displaced Palestinians — mainly from al-Mawasi — to the site, with the ultimate aim of housing the entire population of Gaza there.
The defence minister laid out clear plans for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. A concentration camp or a transit camp for Palestinians before they expel them
Holocaust historian Prof Amos GoldbergThe perimeter of the camp would be secured by Israeli forces. Katz also reaffirmed Israel's intent to implement “the emigration plan,” according to Haaretz.
"(Katz has) laid out an operational plan for a crime against humanity. It is nothing less than that. It is all about population transfer to the southern tip of the Gaza Strip in preparation for deportation outside the strip,” said Michael Sfard, a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer commenting on the matter.
“When you drive someone out of their homeland that would be a war crime, in the context of a war,” said Sfard. “If it’s done on a massive scale like he plans, it becomes a crime against humanity.”
The plan appears to contradict earlier statements from Israel’s military chief, whose office claimed in a letter that Palestinians were being relocated inside Gaza purely for their own protection.
Read: Trump met with PM Netanyahu for 'second time' to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is actively seeking third countries willing to “take in” Palestinians. Other senior Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have promoted the idea of building new Israeli settlements in Gaza, according to The Guardian.
Plans for so-called “humanitarian transit areas” to house Palestinians either inside or outside Gaza were reportedly shared with the Trump administration and discussed at the White House.
The $2 billion proposal was attributed to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), though the group later denied involvement. “The slides are not a GHF document,” the foundation said.
Prof Amos Goldberg, a Holocaust historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Katz’s plan amounted to ethnic cleansing. “The defence minister laid out clear plans for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” he said, describing it as “a concentration camp or a transit camp for Palestinians before they expel them”.
Premature babies, dialysis patients at risk
Meanwhile, officials have warned that more than 100 premature babies in Gaza face imminent danger as fuel shortages cripple hospitals amid Israel’s months-long siege.
This is Salam, just under 7 months old and suffering from serious acute malnutrition.
Yesterday, UNRWA health teams were giving her emergency treatment.
Sadly, Salam died later in the day.
She is one of thousands of malnourished children in Gaza. More cases are detected every… pic.twitter.com/heomKXNnzxRead more: US imposes sanctions on UN's Francesca Albanese over Israel's criticism
At al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, director Muhammad Abu Salmiyah issued a dire appeal, stating that oxygen supplies, dialysis machines, and blood banks were on the verge of shutting down. “The hospital will cease to be a place of healing and will become a graveyard for those inside,” he said.
Another 350 dialysis patients are also at risk as the blockade tightens and electricity sources dwindle. The fuel crisis threatens to collapse Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, already overstretched by relentless Israeli airstrikes and restricted humanitarian access.
In Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, the humanitarian toll became painfully personal for Aayat al-Sardi, whose premature twin boys were born in April. After 40 days in neonatal intensive care, she lost one child, Ahmed, to malnutrition. His twin, Mazen, still clings to life.
“I could not even visit them in the hospital,” said the 25-year-old mother, describing the loss as unbearable. Her twins were conceived after years of failed pregnancies and medical treatments. "My heart died with him," she added.
Ceasefire talks
Israel and Hamas may be able to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal within one or two weeks but such an agreement is not likely to be secured in just a day's time, a senior Israeli official said.
Speaking during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, the official said that if the two sides agree to a proposed 60-day ceasefire, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent ceasefire that would require the Hamas to disarm.
If Hamas refuses, "we'll proceed" with military operations in Gaza, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, Hamas has agreed to release 10 Israeli hostages as part of its “flexibility” to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Hamas “continues its intensive and responsible efforts to ensure the success of the ongoing round of negotiations, striving to reach a comprehensive agreement that ends the aggression against our people, secures the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid, and alleviates the worsening suffering in the Gaza Strip,” the group said in a statement.
“In its commitment to the success of the current efforts, the movement has shown the necessary flexibility and agreed to release 10 prisoners.”
Hamas said key issues including the flow of aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave, and real guarantees for a lasting ceasefire, remain under discussion.
Israel's war on Gaza
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 57,481 Palestinians, including 134,592 children. More than 111,588 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. The proposed deal includes a pause in hostilities, increased humanitarian aid, and negotiations on the release of captives.