Netanyahu Clashes with IDF over Gaza Humanitarian City Plans

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing forward plans to create a new "humanitarian city" in southern Gaza intended to house up to 600,000 Palestinians, despite strong opposition from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The military warns that the project could take over a year to complete, cost between $10-15 billion, and potentially hinder ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations. Netanyahu has rejected the IDF's estimates and instructed the military to develop a faster, cheaper, and more practical alternative plan. The proposal has drawn international condemnation, with critics like former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert likening the plan to a "concentration camp" and warning it could be viewed as ethnic cleansing. The IDF opposes managing humanitarian aid or administering Gaza, fearing that the relocation would complicate military efforts and be exploited by Hamas. Tensions remain high between Netanyahu, the IDF leadership, and other Israeli officials regarding the feasibility and implications of the humanitarian city initiative.