Israel's proposed 'humanitarian city': A relief zone for Gazans or a concentration camp for ethnic cleansing? Explained

Israel has unveiled a controversial plan to build a so-called "humanitarian city" in southern Gaza. Tel Aviv, which has been at war with Hamas in Gaza for over 21 months, has proposed a city with a "closed zone" where it wants to house around 600,000 of the people displaced from southern Gaza. However, the proposed project has come under intense fire, with critics warning that it may amount to a "war crime" – a distraction at best and a blueprint towards ethnic cleansing at worst. So, what is it? A concentration camp reminiscent of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, or a place of shelter for hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans? Here's all we know.

What is Israel proposing?

First unveiled last week by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, the plan envisions constructing a walled encampment in southern Gaza during a proposed 60-day ceasefire. The area, as per AFP, would initially house 600,000 displaced Palestinians, and eventually, Israel intends to relocate the entire Gaza population, over two million people, into this zone.

Katz has described it as a civilian aid hub with four international distribution centres, secured by Israeli forces, albeit "from a distance." But new arrivals would be screened for Hamas ties and not permitted to leave once admitted, except to go to other countries, Katz said. The project is reportedly backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Why is it so controversial?

Critics, including officials from UN agencies to *Israeli officials — say the humanitarian city is neither humane nor a city, but rather a mass detention site being planned under the guise of humanitarian relief. "It is a concentration camp. I am sorry," said former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an interview with The Guardian. "If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new ‘humanitarian city’, then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn’t yet happened.". He said that this would be the "inevitable interpretation" of any attempt to create a camp for hundreds of thousands of people.

His sentiments were echoed by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) which said that the "plan would de-facto create massive concentration camps at the border with Egypt". Slamming the proposal Britain's minister for the Middle East and North Africa Hamish Falconer has said he is "appalled" by the idea. On X, he insisted that "Palestinian territory must not be reduced...Civilians must be able to return to their communities."

What would it cost?

Estimates, as published by AFP, peg the cost of the proposed facility between 10 and 20 billion shekels ($3–6 billion). This huge expense would come on top of the economic burden of the ongoing war — now in its 21st month — which has already strained Israel's budget. "That money is not coming back," opposition leader Yair Lapid posted on X. The proposal has also been seen as a nod to long-standing goals of far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, key coalition partners of the Israeli Prime Minister. "Netanyahu is letting Smotrich and Ben Gvir run wild with extremist delusions just to preserve his coalition. Instead of plundering the middle class's money, end the war and bring back the hostages."

What does international law say?

Under international humanitarian law, the forced displacement of civilians is strictly prohibited, except for temporary evacuations due to immediate dangers from hostilities. In a statement, Amnesty International, which has accused Israel of genocide, warned that, "relocating Gazans within the territory or "deporting them outside against their will would amount to the war crime of unlawful transfer". On Friday (Jul 11), 16 prominent Israeli legal scholars in a letter to Netanyahu and Katz also warned that the scheme could fall under the definitions of war crimes.