Latest news with #humanitarianCity
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
UK Weighs Sanctions Over Israel's ‘Humanitarian City' Proposal
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy suggested he's considering imposing sanctions on Israel's defense minister over his proposal to move Palestinians in Gaza to a 'humanitarian city' in Rafah, in the latest sign of growing tensions between European governments and Benjamin Netanyahu's administration. Israel Katz told journalists last week that he instructed the military to prepare to establish a camp built in the ruins of the city, Israeli media reported. He said Palestinians would be brought inside after security screening to ensure they were not Hamas operatives, and that they would not be allowed to leave, according to the reports. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert told the Guardian that the plan is comparable to a 'concentration camp.'
NHK
09-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Israeli media: Netanyahu supports 'humanitarian city' for Gaza residents
An Israeli media outlet has reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports a plan to concentrate residents of Gaza in a "humanitarian city" to be established in the southern part of the enclave. Haaretz on Tuesday quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying the prime minister supports the plan presented by Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday. Under the plan, the entire population of Gaza will be moved to what Katz called a "humanitarian city" to be built in Rafah, which has been heavily damaged in the conflict. Haaretz also quoted the source as saying the goal is "to screen Gaza residents moving south at the entrance to the camps" and to eliminate Hamas militants who are assumed to remain in the northern area of the enclave. The outlet also reported on Monday that, according to the defense minister, residents would not be allowed to leave once they enter the city. CNN television quoted a human rights lawyer as saying if such plans are implemented on a massive scale, they can amount to war crimes. About truce in the Gaza, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are underway in Qatar. Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump also held talks in Washington on Tuesday for the second day in a row.
Russia Today
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Israel plans to move Gaza population to single ‘humanitarian city'
Israel is preparing to establish a so-called 'humanitarian city' on the ruins of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian enclave's entire population is to be moved, the country's defense minister, Israel Katz, has announced. Critics of the initiative promptly branded the 'city' an internment camp and warned of potentially widespread human rights abuse. The 'humanitarian city' is expected to initially accommodate some 600,000 Palestinians – primarily displaced persons living in the coastal Mawasi area to the northwest of Rafah, Katz told reporters on Monday. Eventually, all of the estimated 2.2 million Gazans will be placed into the 'city,' which is to be secured by the Israeli military from a distance and run by unspecified international organizations, the minister stated. The Palestinians will undergo screening before being placed into the 'city' to ensure no Hamas operatives slip in, Katz noted. The scheme is ultimately designed to displace the entire Gaza population and encourage it to 'voluntarily emigrate' from the enclave elsewhere, the minister admitted. Those who end up in the zone will not be allowed to return to other parts of Gaza, he added. The defense ministry has already begun planning for the zone, according to Katz. However, the country's authorities have made no public statements on the scheme or said whether it has actually been approved. It also remains unclear when the plan would be put into motion. The proposed 'humanitarian city' has been criticized by human rights advocates and activists, who have branded it an internal camp and warned of potential abuses. Michael Sfard, a leading Israeli human rights lawyer, called the proposed scheme 'an operational plan for a crime against humanity.' 'While the government still calls the deportation 'voluntary,' people in Gaza are under so many coercive measures that no departure from the strip can be seen in legal terms as consensual,' Sfard told the Guardian. The 'humanitarian city' plan comes after Israel rejected Hamas' proposed changes to a Gaza ceasefire deal. The Palestinian militant group reportedly wanted the agreement to ensure a permanent truce and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The conflict between Hamas and Israel began in October of 2023, when the group launched a surprise assault in the south of the country. The initial attack left some 1,200 people dead, with around 250 taken hostage. Some 50 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza. Fewer than half are believed to be alive. Over the past 21 months, Israel's military response, which has involved heavy aerial and artillery bombardments, as well as ground operations in the Strip, has killed at least 57,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the local health ministry.
