According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Israel has proposed setting up tent compounds for Palestinian evacuees currently sheltering in Rafah, as part of a developing plan funded by the United States and Arab countries, in preparation for an IDF ground operation.

It is estimated that more than half of the Gaza Strip's population is currently in Rafah, with most of them evacuated from other parts of the Strip dwelling in an overcrowded makeshift tent city.

According to the U.N., around 1.5 million people are currently living in Rafah, which is roughly six times the city's population before the Oct. 7 war.

According to the WSJ, the Israeli proposal would see Israel oversee the construction of about 15 campsites with about 25,000 tents each, in order to handle the evacuation of Gaza civilians.

According to a report in the Lebanese news site Al-Akhbar, the establishment of the tent cities is a coordination between Israel, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE. The funding and construction of the tent cities largely being the responsibility of the US and its Arab partners. The tent cities would also include medical field clinics.

The Al-Akhbar report said the communities will be run by "mukhtars," government officials appointed by authorities, and who are not affiliated with Hamas.

The WSJ said that Israel presented the plan to Egypt in recent days, however, the Journal said it received no response from Egyptian or Israeli officials to questions regarding the proposal.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it had not received any notification from Israel of a plan to evacuate the Rafah area. The ministry also said that the U.N. would not participate in any "forced evacuation" of civilians.

U.S. President Joe Biden recently said that any Israeli military action in Rafah should be preceded by a "credible" plan to ensure the safety and welfare of the over one million civilians seeking shelter in Rafah.

However, according to a report in Politico, the Biden administration is not planning to "punish" Israel if it expands its military operations into Rafah before the humanitarian zones are established.

Meanwhile, Egypt has presented conflicting responses to the incursion into Rafah. The country, which has a peace treaty with Israel since 1979, has recently threatened to suspend that treaty if Palestinians cross the border into Egypt during a Rafah ground operation. Egypt also strengthened its border security, sending tanks and armored personnel carriers to the border communities.

However, on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said his government is committed to upholding the peace treaty, reassuring the Israeli government that an IDF military operation in Rafah would not end the treaty.

Egypt also reportedly warned Hamas, during negotiations for a renewed hostage deal, that Israel could invade Rafah in the next two weeks.

Republished with permission from All Israel News.