US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace is planning a pilot "humanitarian zone" in southern Gaza, specifically targeting the Rafah area, to accommodate tens of thousands of vetted Palestinian civilians, a board official told AFP.
The zone is intended to serve as a "starting point" for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a group of Palestinian technocrats established by the Board of Peace to assume day-to-day governance during Gaza's transitional phase out of war under Trump's 20-point plan. The official said this pilot project could enable tens of thousands of Palestinians to voluntarily move to the area, where they would exercise effective governance.
Security in the zone would be provided by multinational troops from the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which operates under the Board of Peace. The NCAG would handle screening and access control with ISF support. Movement in and out of the zone "will remain free for all unarmed civilians," the official added.
The official emphasized that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would have no contact with the civilian population in the zone and no role in separating these areas from the rest of Gaza. Since the truce between Israel and Hamas took effect last October, Israeli forces have expanded their presence and now control more than 60 percent of Gaza.
Rafah, located at Gaza's southern edge, was heavily damaged by Israeli bombing during the war and is largely under Israeli military control. The Board of Peace remains vague on the exact positioning of the zone within Rafah.
The concept of closed humanitarian zones has raised serious reservations among diplomats and NGO officials working in Gaza, who told AFP on condition of anonymity that such mechanisms may be incompatible with international humanitarian law.
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