“Humanitarian city” or new camp?

An Israeli plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of already displaced Palestinians to a so-called “humanitarian city” in Gaza has sparked a clash between politicians and the military establishment, but officials admit that a concrete plan has not yet been drawn up.

Although there is no clear blueprint yet, opposition critics have already condemned the proposal, with some comparing the proposed location to a "concentration camp", warning that such a move could lead to ethnic cleansing in the coastal enclave already ravaged by 21 months of conflict.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has defended the project, arguing that it would provide a safe haven for civilians while further weakening Hamas militants' control over Gaza. However, it remains unclear whether this is a concrete government policy, Reuters reports.

The idea was floated earlier this month by Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Netanyahu convened a meeting of ministers and military officials on Sunday evening to discuss it.

Reuters reports that the military was tasked with preparing a detailed proposal, but Netanyahu, according to two Israeli officials present at the meeting, rejected it as too expensive and complicated, and ordered a solution to be developed that would be cheaper and faster to implement.

An Israeli military source said it was a complex initiative that required elaborate logistics for infrastructure such as sewage, sanitation, medical services, water and food supplies.

According to the same source, planning is still in a very early stage, and the goal is to help Palestinians who do not want to live under Hamas rule.

Hamas did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Some commentators suggest that the real goal of presenting this plan is actually to increase pressure on Hamas during ceasefire negotiations, but also to appease right-wingers in the government who oppose any ceasefire.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's office, as well as the Israeli military, did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Katz outlined the plan on July 7 during a briefing with Israeli military correspondents. It followed a proposal by US President Donald Trump, who Netanyahu has publicly supported despite facing widespread criticism abroad, to relocate Gazans to third countries while the devastated enclave is rebuilt.

Almost the entire population of Gaza, which numbers more than two million people, has already been displaced during the conflict that broke out in October 2023.

Katz said last week that about 600.000 people would be relocated to a new camp, which would be built in southern Gaza, along the border with Egypt, in an area over which Israeli forces have taken control and which, like much of Gaza, is now in ruins.

The new zone, in Rafah, would be completely cleared of Hamas presence and would be administered by international, not Israeli, forces, Katz said at a briefing on July 7, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan and military correspondents for Army Radio.

He was also quoted as saying that people who decide to move to the zone will not be able to leave it.

A spokesman for Katz declined to comment on the allegations.

Zev Elkin, an Israeli minister who is a member of Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Khan that the plan aims to weaken Hamas' power in Gaza.

"The more you separate Hamas from the population, the more Hamas will lose. As long as Hamas controls food, water and money, it will be able to continue recruiting militants," Elkin said.

Asked about concerns that the relocations could be forced and whether the new zone was intended as a transit camp with the ultimate goal of expelling Palestinians from Gaza, a military official told Reuters: "That is not our policy."

Asked about the plan, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "As we have repeatedly stressed, we firmly oppose any plan that involves the forcible displacement of civilians in Gaza or forces them to make impossible decisions."

“Mostly propaganda”

Following Katz's briefing, the Israeli media was flooded with leaks.

On July 9, the left-wing newspaper Haaretz, citing senior military officials, reported that the plan had met with resistance within the military due to legal and logistical challenges.

Israeli television N12 News reported on Sunday that the military opposes the plan because it could jeopardize the ceasefire talks in Doha, while the Ynet portal reported that officials said the project would cost between 10 and 15 billion shekels ($3 to $4,5 billion).

This report drew condemnation from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said that some members of the security establishment were trying to sabotage the plan by presenting inflated budgets.

"Preparing a protected zone for the population," Smotrič's office said, "is a simple logistical operation that costs only a few hundred million, an amount that the Ministry of Finance is ready to provide."

After Sunday's talks, hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dismissed the controversy as a smokescreen aimed at distracting attention from concessions Israel might be willing to make in ceasefire talks with Hamas.

Will the residents of that city be allowed to leave it? If not, how will they be prevented from doing so? Will it be surrounded by a fence? Regular or electric? How many soldiers will guard it? What will those soldiers do when the children want to leave the city, asked opposition leader Yair Lapid

Ben-Gvir, like Smotrich, advocates the continuation of the war, the eviction of Palestinians from Gaza, and the reconstruction of Jewish settlements that were dismantled there two decades ago.

“The discussion about establishing a humanitarian city is mostly a propaganda play to cover up the agreement that is being prepared,” Ben-Gwir wrote on the X network. He added that it is impossible to build such a city during the proposed 60-day ceasefire.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday that the plan was dangerous and would never be implemented.

"Will the residents of that city be allowed to leave it? If not, how will they be prevented from doing so? Will it be surrounded by a fence? Regular or electric? How many soldiers will guard it? What will those soldiers do when the children want to leave the city?" Lapid asked in the Israeli parliament.