Satellite data reveals massive destruction in Rafah as Israel proposes relocating Gaza’s entire population into a so-called “humanitarian city”
Israel has significantly escalated demolition operations in Gaza’s southern Rafah Governorate, raising global alarm over a reported plan to forcibly transfer the entire population of Gaza. According to satellite analysis by Al Jazeera’s Sanad investigations unit, demolitions have sharply increased in preparation for the creation of a controversial “humanitarian city.”
The United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) confirms that approximately 28,600 buildings have been destroyed in Rafah as of July 4, 2025 — a staggering rise from 15,800 recorded on April 4. This means nearly 12,800 structures were leveled in just three months, coinciding with Israel’s intensified military push into Rafah beginning in late March.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, announced that 600,000 Palestinians would be relocated to Rafah from the coastal al-Mawasi region within 60 days of a ceasefire agreement. Katz called the area a “humanitarian city,” but many observers and rights groups warn it amounts to the creation of mass internment zones.
A leaked proposal associated with the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) describes plans for a “Humanitarian Transit Area”, where Gaza residents would be housed, “deradicalised,” and prepared to either reintegrate or relocate abroad.
Katz emphasized that the full Gaza population of more than 2 million is expected to be moved to this southern zone, and that the operation would be administered by international bodies — though he did not specify which organisations would be involved. He also stated that Israel hopes many Palestinians will eventually “voluntarily emigrate.”
The plan has been condemned by numerous international experts. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), warned that this would effectively create “massive concentration camps” on the Egyptian border, displacing Palestinians yet again and stripping them of future prospects in their homeland.
“This would de facto create massive concentration camps at the border with Egypt for the Palestinians, displaced over and over across generations,” Lazzarini said.
Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg echoed the concern, stating, “This is, for all facts and purposes, a concentration camp,” and called it an “overt crime against humanity under international humanitarian law.”
He added, “It should be taken very seriously,” and questioned how a population could be “concentrated in a locked city where they would be let in but not let out.”
The rapid increase in Rafah demolitions, coupled with the plan to transfer Gaza’s civilian population, has prompted widespread condemnation and calls for urgent international intervention.