Israel outlines plans to pack Gaza’s population into closed border zone

Palestinians heading to receive food and humanitarian aid packages from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organisation, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Picture: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Israel’s defence minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt, according to local media reports.

It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of its population of some two million.