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

The proposed development - referred to by some diplomats as “Emirates City” - would span roughly 74 acres near Rafah, close to Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. The area was heavily depopulated and damaged during Israel’s war with Hamas. 

Planning documents show the compound could house tens of thousands of residents in multi-storey prefabricated trailer-style units.

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 US President Donald Trump's plan, reported Reuters.

Trump's plan is being managed by his Board of Peace, a group of international leaders that oversees a Gaza-specific body made up of officials and businessmen and a Palestinian technocratic committee meant to assume governance of Gaza from Hamas.

A Palestinian businessman, who has direct knowledge of the plan, identified the contractor as Masoud & Ali Contracting Company (MACC), which had earlier led large-scale projects in Gaza. MACC would partner with two Egyptian firms to build it, he revealed.

However, no work has yet begun on the ground, in part because Israel has yet to approve the compound's plans, he added.