The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a housing complex in southern Gaza—near Rafah—to accommodate thousands of displaced Palestinians under Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) military control, according to a Reuters-obtained map. The proposed ‘UAE Temporary Housing Complex’ would be located close to Rafah, a city once home to 250,000 people but now largely destroyed and depopulated by Israeli forces. U.S. officials have described similar proposals as ‘Alternative Safe Communities’ or ‘Planned Communities,’ aiming to gradually isolate Hamas. Rafah—adjacent to Egypt’s border—is envisioned as the starting point for Gaza’s reconstruction under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan. However, donor nations remain hesitant to commit funding, fearing that disputes over Hamas disarmament could reignite full-scale conflict. Critics question the political viability of the UAE plan: most Palestinians are unlikely to accept resettlement in an Israeli-controlled zone, especially when the vast majority of civilians currently reside in Hamas-governed areas. The map places the complex near the so-called ‘yellow line,’ a demarcation agreed upon in prior ceasefires to separate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled zones. An Emirati official declined to confirm or deny the plan, reiterating only the UAE’s commitment to humanitarian aid for Gaza. Diplomatic sources note that the IDF has cleared a large swath from the Mediterranean coast to Rafah—creating space for temporary housing projects. While the UAE views Hamas as a regional stability threat—and normalized ties with Israel in 2020—experts stress that such a strategy would require massive infrastructure capable of sheltering hundreds of thousands to succeed. Doubts persist over whether Palestinians would relocate en masse to Israeli-controlled areas.
Gaza: UAE’s Controversial Plan to House Palestinians in IDF-Controlled Zone
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