For months, rumors and reports have swirled about a controversial plan: Israel is exploring ways to relocate Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip to South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest and most unstable nations. According to The New York Times, this idea is part of a broader Israeli push for large-scale emigration from Gaza, with officials repeatedly framing the initiative as “voluntary migration.” Yet, the details—and the motivations behind them—remain murky, and the proposal has sparked fierce debate both within the region and internationally.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly insisted that Israel is not “pushing out” Palestinians, but he has notably avoided clarifying whether those who leave Gaza would ever be allowed to return. “We can see clearly that Hamas is under immense pressure,” Netanyahu said recently, signaling that Israeli forces are preparing further military action in Gaza City and contemplating moving its population further south. Still, this stance has left many Palestinians and observers deeply skeptical about the true voluntariness of any migration that occurs under such dire circumstances.
Behind closed doors, senior officials in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, have reportedly discussed the resettlement idea with Israeli representatives, even as South Sudan’s government has publicly denied any involvement. According to sources cited by The New York Times and The Times of Israel, these talks began earlier in 2025, following a visit by a Sudanese leader to Israel. Yet, South Sudan’s foreign ministry has called such reports “baseless,” and the country’s government spokesman has not responded to requests for comment. The ambiguity has only fueled speculation and concern in both nations.
The possibility of relocating Palestinians from Gaza has been a topic of speculation since Israel launched its campaign against Hamas following the deadly October 7, 2023, attack, in which Hamas militants killed over 1,200 Israelis and took about 250 hostages. Since then, Israel has reportedly approached several countries, especially Egypt, to take in Gazan refugees—but with little success. Egypt, which initially allowed tens of thousands to enter during the first nine months of the war, is now closed to most, and other countries are focused on evacuating only the sick and wounded.
Israeli officials, including far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, have been increasingly vocal about the desire for Palestinians to leave Gaza. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, stated in May that Gazans would hopefully soon be displaced “to third countries,” and later declared Gaza “an inseparable part of the land of Israel.” Gila Gamliel, a minister in the security cabinet, said in a televised interview that “1,700,000 Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip.” Another minister, Amichay Eliyahu, even said approvingly that Israel was “driving out the population” of Gaza—a position the prime minister’s office has since distanced itself from.
Despite the official line of “voluntary migration,” critics argue that the reality is far more coercive. Human rights groups point out that Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been decimated by nearly two years of war, leaving most residents displaced, hungry, and desperate. “There’s nothing voluntary when you’re making Gaza unlivable, when you are destroying the civilian infrastructure that is necessary for civilian life,” Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, told The New York Times. “Continuing to force people out is not voluntary.”
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is indeed dire. On August 19, 2025, a ship carrying 1,200 tonnes of food left Cyprus for Israel’s port of Ashdod, destined for Gaza. “The situation is beyond dire,” Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told the Associated Press. The United Nations has warned that famine is taking hold, despite Netanyahu dismissing such reports as “lies.” Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that the death toll from the 22-month war has surpassed 62,000, with women and children making up about half of those killed. The toll on aid workers has also been unprecedented: the UN said that 383 humanitarian workers were killed globally in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza, a figure that UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described as “a shameful indictment of international inaction.”
For South Sudan, the prospect of accepting large numbers of Palestinian refugees is fraught with challenges. Since gaining independence in 2011, the country has been mired in political instability, ethnic violence, famine, and corruption. South Sudanese officials are reportedly concerned about the financial burden of caring for refugees. Joseph Szlavik, a lobbyist for the South Sudanese government, told The New York Times that “the South Sudanese are wondering who will pay.”
There are also strategic calculations at play. South Sudan hopes that cooperating with Israel could help improve its relations with the Trump administration, including the lifting of a U.S. visa ban, an arms embargo, and sanctions against key officials. In April, the Trump administration revoked all visas for South Sudanese citizens to travel to the United States, citing the country’s failure to repatriate deportees. But taking on the responsibility of resettling thousands—or even millions—of Palestinians is a far more complicated and politically risky proposition.
Backlash within South Sudan has been swift. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs said he would summon Foreign Minister Monday Semaya K. Kumba to demand answers about any resettlement talks. Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a South Sudanese rights group, criticized the idea, stating, “Accepting the resettlement of Palestinians in South Sudan undermines and belittles the political faith, position and identity of Palestinians in having their own state.” Yakani warned, “This is ethnic cleansing that we are supporting.”
Meanwhile, Palestinians themselves are divided. Some, like Jalal al-Homs, sheltering in a tent in southern Gaza with his family, expressed desperation: “I would leave Gaza to save my kids from this horrible situation,” he told The New York Times. “But to go to South Sudan? That we couldn’t accept.” Many Palestinians carry the trauma of previous displacements, especially from the wars surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948, and fear becoming permanent refugees yet again.
International legal experts have also weighed in. The International Center for Transitional Justice has warned that any forced resettlement of Gazans would amount to a war crime and potentially a crime against humanity. Human rights advocates argue that labeling the policy “voluntary” does not change the coercive reality on the ground, especially when people are fleeing unlivable conditions.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens and diplomatic maneuvering continues, the fate of its people remains perilously uncertain. With no breakthrough in sight and both Israel and South Sudan facing mounting criticism, the question of where—if anywhere—Palestinians from Gaza might go is as contentious and unresolved as ever.