Israel Starts Planning for Palestinians to Leave Gaza Despite International Rejection

By Associated Press

Published 1 hour ago on

February 6, 2025

Israel prepares for potential mass Palestinian exodus from Gaza, sparking international concern and diplomatic pushback. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israel begins planning for Palestinian departures from Gaza, despite international opposition to Trump's proposal.
Egypt warns relocating Gaza Palestinians could jeopardize its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of regional stability.
WHO official: Only half of Gaza's hospitals partially functional; medical evacuations could take 5-10 years at current rate.

Israel says it has begun preparations for the departure of Palestinians from Gaza despite widespread international rejection of President Donald Trump’s plan to empty the war-devastated territory of its population. There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground Thursday.

Egypt has launched a behind-the-scenes diplomatic blitz against the proposal, warning it would put its peace deal with Israel at risk, officials said. The Palestinians have vehemently rejected Trump’s proposal, fearing Israel would never allow refugees to return.

The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. U.S. officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out.

WHO Describes Scale of Gaza’s Immense Health Needs

The top World Health Organization official for Gaza said only 18 of 36 hospitals were partially functional and just 57 of 142 primary health care centers were operating.

Between Feb. 1 and Feb. 5, there were 139 wounded and ill patients evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, alongside 197 companions, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said Thursday.

He said between 12,000 and 14,000 patients still need medical evacuation including 5,000 children – and at the current rate, medical evacuations will take five to 10 years and critically ill patients will die.

Trump’s Secretary of State Insists Relocating Palestinians Would Be Temporary

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemingly contradicted President Donald Trump again on Thursday when talking about the proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza and relocate Palestinians from the territory, insisting this would just be a temporary move.

“I think that’s just a realistic reality that in order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim,” Rubio said in a press conference in the Dominican Republic. He said the Gaza Strip was “not habitable.”

Countries Reject Israeli Suggestion to Take in Palestinians

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post Thursday that Spain, Norway and Ireland should take in Palestinians from Gaza.

The three Western European nations roundly rejected the idea.

“Gaza is the land of Gazans,” Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in an interview with Spanish radio station RNE, adding that the territory must be part of a future Palestinian state.

Israel Instructs Military to Plan for Large-Scale Palestinian Departures

Israel’s defense minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump’s proposal for the war-ravaged territory.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”

He said he welcomed Trump’s “bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world.”

There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground Thursday and Katz did not give details about how the military planned to facilitate the departures.