in-cyprus 8 July 2025 - by Reuters News Service
Cyprus has been identified as a potential destination for housing Palestinians under a controversial $2 billion proposal to build large-scale camps for Gaza’s population, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The proposal, bearing the name of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), includes a map showing arrows pointing to Cyprus and Egypt as possible locations for “Humanitarian Transit Areas” outside Gaza. The document was submitted to the Trump administration, according to two Reuters sources.
The slide presentation describes camps as “large-scale” and “voluntary” facilities where Gaza’s population could “temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.” The document states GHF is “working to secure” over $2 billion to “build, secure and oversee large-scale Humanitarian Transit Areas inside and potentially outside Gaza strip for the population to reside while Gaza is demilitarized and rebuilt.”
Regional implications
The proposal envisions eight camps capable of sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, according to a project source. Cyprus appears among potential external locations alongside Egypt, with additional destinations marked as question marks on the presentation map.
The document does not specify relocation methods or provide details about potential arrangements with Cyprus or other identified countries for hosting such facilities.
Denials and responses
GHF denied submitting the proposal, telling Reuters the slides “are not a GHF document.” The organisation said it studied “a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza” but “is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas.”
SRS, a contracting company working with GHF whose name appears on several slides, told Reuters: “We have had no discussions with GHF about HTAs, and our ‘next phase’ is feeding more people.”
A senior US administration official said “nothing of the like is under consideration” and “no resources are being directed to that end in any way.” The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Camp specifications
One slide indicates a camp would become operational within 90 days, initially housing 2,160 people with facilities including laundry, restrooms, showers and a school. The proposal was dated after 11 February and includes photos from that date.
Opposition
Three humanitarian experts expressed alarm over the camp proposal. “There is no such thing as voluntary displacement amongst a population that has been under constant bombardment for nearly two years,” said Jeremy Konyndyk of Refugees International.
Hamas’s Gaza government media office director Ismail Al-Thawabta “categorically” rejected GHF, calling it “not a relief organisation but rather an intelligence and security tool affiliated with the Israeli occupation.”
The UN has called GHF’s operations “inherently unsafe” and recorded at least 613 killings at GHF aid points and near humanitarian convoys.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the proposal’s current status or whether it remains under consideration.
