Egypt willing to temporarily relocate half a million Gazans to Sinai – report
President Sissi said to float idea during meetings with other Arab leaders, though he has publicly rebuffed suggestions his country could take in any Palestinian refugees
Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has informed other Arab leaders that he is willing to temporarily relocate half a million residents from Gaza to northern Sinai in a designated city as part of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, according to a Friday report.
According to the report in the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, Sissi made his willingness known during meetings held by Arab leaders in recent weeks in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. There was no confirmation of the report from any other source.
The Egyptian State Information Service denied the report, saying, “Egypt’s position is firm in its absolute and final rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians, and the Cairo Arab Summit’s emergency plan for reconstruction is based on it.”
In public statements, Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah have repeatedly rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the two Arab countries could take in Palestinian refugees on a permanent basis under his plan to empty the Gaza Strip of its residents and turn it into a “riviera.” The issue is of crucial significance for Jordan and Egypt, which fear that an influx of Palestinians will destabilize their countries.
Throughout the recent two-month ceasefire between Hamas and Israel — which collapsed this week — Arab leaders held several summits regarding Gaza and their vision for “the day after the war.”
At an Arab League summit in Cairo in early March, Egypt presented its plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and emphasized that it would not include the displacement of residents.
The Arab plan envisions an independent committee of technocrats governing Gaza for six months before handing control to the Palestinian Authority. The plan does not mention Hamas by name, instead stating that the fate of all armed groups in Gaza can only be fully addressed through a political process that leads to a Palestinian state.
According to previous reports in Arab media, the plan only includes the internal relocation of Gazans within Gaza to clear rubble and rebuild buildings and neighborhoods. According to a United Nations analysis from September, over two-thirds of Gaza’s structures have been damaged or destroyed during the war sparked on October 7, 2023, when Hamas rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages.
Recently, the Trump administration has been sending mixed signals regarding its stance on the Egypt-led Arab plan for post-war Gaza. Initially, Trump spoke multiple times about his vision of emptying Gaza of its more than 2 million Palestinian residents and reconstructing the Strip, even suggesting that Israel would hand Gaza over to the US after the war.
Then, on March 7, US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, called the Arab proposal a “good-faith first step” with “a lot of compelling features.” Hours later, however, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce characterized the proposal as “inadequate.” Last week, during a press conference with the Irish prime minister, Trump stated: “Nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli government has been pushing the idea of a “Gaza exodus” as its plan for the Strip. At the beginning of the month, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, is working to establish a “migration administration” that will oversee the exodus of Palestinian residents from Gaza.
“This plan is taking shape, with ongoing actions in coordination with the administration… It involves identifying key countries, understanding their interests — both with the US and with us — and fostering cooperation,” Smotrich said regarding the initiative and efforts to find countries willing to accept Palestinian emigrants.
The Times of Israel Community.