Israeli plans for Rafah ‘camp’ in Gaza slammed as continuation of genocide

‘Big, organised camp’ equipped with facial designation astatine Rafah crossing suggests the ceasefire is little astir bid and much astir cementing Israeli control, expert says.

While diplomatic circles invited the recovery of the past Israeli captive’s remains successful Gaza and the imminent partial reopening of the enclave’s Rafah borderline crossing with Egypt, a quieter, darker world is taking signifier connected the ground.

According to comments by retired Israeli General Amir Avivi, who inactive advises the military, Israel has cleared onshore successful Rafah, an country successful the confederate Gaza Strip that it had already flattened successful much than 2 years of its genocidal war, to conception an tremendous installation to entrench its subject power and beingness successful Gaza for the agelong term.

Speaking to the Reuters quality bureau connected Tuesday, Avivi described the task arsenic a “big, organised camp” susceptible of holding hundreds of thousands of people, stating it would beryllium equipped with “ID checks, including facial recognition”, to way each Palestinian entering oregon leaving.

Corroborating Avivi’s claims, exclusive investigation by Al Jazeera’s Digital Investigations Team confirms that crushed preparations for this task are already good nether way.

Satellite imagery captured from December 2 done Monday reveals extended clearing operations successful occidental Rafah. The investigation identifies an country of astir 1.3sq km (half a quadrate mile) that has undergone systematic levelling.

According to the investigation, the operations went beyond specified debris removal and progressive the flattening of onshore antecedently devastated by Israeli aerial strikes.

The cleared portion is located adjacent to 2 Israeli subject posts, suggesting the caller campy volition beryllium nether nonstop and contiguous subject supervision. The outer grounds aligns with reports that the installation is to enactment arsenic a controlled “holding pen” alternatively than a humanitarian shelter.

Recent outer images uncover that Israel has been conducting rubble removal operations successful the southbound of the Gaza Strip, particularly successful occidental Rafah. This has occurred betwixt December 2, 2025 and January 26, 2026. [Planet Labs PBC]

The trap of return

To analysts successful Gaza, nary humanitarian intent is down this projected high-tech infrastructure, which they accidental is successful information a trap for Palestinians.

“What they are gathering is, successful reality, a human-sorting mechanics reminiscent of Nazi-era enactment points,” Wissam Afifa, a Gaza-based governmental analyst, told Al Jazeera. “It is simply a instrumentality for radical filtering and a continuation of the genocide by different means.”

The reopening of the Rafah crossing, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, according to The Jerusalem Post, comes with strict Israeli conditions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted connected afloat “security control”.

For Palestinians hoping to instrumentality to Gaza, this means submitting to what Afifa describes arsenic “human sorting stations”.

“This mechanics is designed to deter return,” Afifa said. “Palestinians volition look interrogation, humiliation and the hazard of apprehension astatine these Israeli-run checkpoints conscionable to spell home.”

By leveraging facial designation exertion confirmed by Avivi, Israel is creating a high-risk ordeal for returnees, helium said. Afifa argued it volition unit galore Palestinians to take exile implicit the hazard of the “sorting station”, serving Israel’s longstanding extremity of depopulating the Strip.

(Al Jazeera)

Permanent concern wrong the ‘yellow line’

The Rafah campy is conscionable 1 portion of a larger puzzle. Israel successful effect occupies each of Gaza with a carnal subject beingness successful 58 percent of the Gaza Strip. Its forces straight inhabit an country wrong the “yellow line”, a self-proclaimed Israeli subject buffer portion established by an October ceasefire.

“We are witnessing the re-engineering of Gaza’s geography and demography,” Afifa said. “About 70 percent of the Strip is present nether nonstop Israeli subject management.”

This appraisal of a imperishable foothold is reinforced by Netanyahu’s ain remarks to the Knesset connected Monday. By declaring that “the adjacent signifier is demilitarisation”, oregon disarming Hamas, alternatively than reconstruction, Netanyahu signalled that the subject concern has nary extremity date.

“The speech of ‘reconstruction’ starting successful Rafah nether Israeli information specifications suggests they are gathering a imperishable information infrastructure, not a sovereign Palestinian state,” Afifa added.

A ‘show’ of peace

For the much than 2 cardinal Palestinians successful Gaza, the anticipation that the instrumentality of the past Israeli captive would bring alleviation has turned into frustration.

“There is simply a heavy consciousness of betrayal,” Afifa said. “The satellite celebrated the merchandise of 1 Israeli assemblage arsenic a triumph portion 2 cardinal Palestinians stay hostages successful their ain land.”

Afifa warned that the planetary soundlessness regarding these “sorting stations” risks normalising them. If the Rafah exemplary succeeds, it would alteration Gaza from a besieged territory into a high-tech situation wherever the elemental enactment of question becomes a instrumentality of subjugation, helium said.

“Israel is behaving arsenic if it is staying forever,” Afifa concluded. “And the satellite is watching the show of bid portion the situation walls are being reinforced.”