Gaza firm to build UAE-funded housing compound in Israeli-held south: Sources to Reuters

A Gaza firm has been contracted to build an Emirati-funded compound for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of the territory under Israeli military control, two Israeli officials and two Palestinian businessmen told Reuters.

The plan for a Palestinian contracting firm staffed by Gaza workers to build the compound has not been previously reported.

It appears to signal an aim to begin reconstruction without waiting for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, a step that is meant to accompany the disarming of Hamas fighters in the next phase of a ceasefire under U.S. President Donald Trump's plan.

Employing Palestinians in construction could be a way to reduce local hostility to the project, but it remains to be seen whether large numbers of Palestinians would agree to live or work in an Israeli-held area of Gaza.

The United Arab Emirates has yet to formally announce the housing project, dubbed by some diplomats as "Emirates City". According to a planning map seen by Reuters, the compound would be built near Rafah on Gaza's southern edge, an area depopulated and demolished by Israeli forces during the war with Hamas.
Reuters