ISTANBUL

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Thursday decried an Israeli plan to concentrate Gaza’s population in a so-called “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah as “inhumane.”

Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA Director of External Relations and Communications, said that the proposed site – which Israeli officials say would initially host 600,000 people – “has nothing to do with humanity.”

“Labeling it a ‘humanitarian city’ is an insult to the very notion of humanity,” Alrifai told reporters.

“There is nothing humanitarian about confining hundreds of thousands of people behind fences and checkpoints under military surveillance.”

According to Alrifai, the Israeli plan envisions moving Gaza’s entire population - more than 2.1 million people – into an overcrowded, tightly controlled zone.

“It would turn Gaza, which is already the world’s largest open-air prison, into the most crowded and most heavily monitored one,” she said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed his army to prepare a plan to relocate all Palestinians to what he called a “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Katz said the entire population will be held in the new zone, and from there, they will be allowed to emigrate from Gaza to other countries.

Alrifai warned the idea would effectively create sprawling refugee camps along Egypt’s border.

“We cannot stand by silently while large-scale forced displacement happens yet again,” she said.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini also denounced the proposal, saying it would push Palestinians who have endured generations of displacement into “massive overcrowded camps.”

“The only viable path forward is a lasting cease-fire, the release of all hostages, unhindered humanitarian access, and genuine commitment to a two-state solution,” he said.

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated places on earth, with Rafah covering just about 55 square kilometers.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 57,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has devastated the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense 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.