“Humanitarian Displacement”: How Boston Consulting Group Got Caught in a Gaza Resettlement Scandal

On Sunday, the Financial Times published a shocking report detailing the involvement of the U.S.-based Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in a controversial project aimed at relocating hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza.

Code-named “Project Aurora,” the plan was presented under the cover of humanitarian aid, but the investigation uncovered a well-structured roadmap for forced displacement, sparking outrage from Palestinian officials, human rights groups, and international observers.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: A “Humanitarian Cover” for Displacement

Since May 2025, a shadowy organization known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in Gaza with U.S. and Israeli backing, distributing food through limited aid centers outside the supervision of the United Nations and established humanitarian groups. However, as several investigative reports revealed, the foundation appeared to be nothing more than a front for a political and security-led operation aimed at reshaping Gaza’s demographics.

According to Haaretz, the GHF was established in close coordination between the Israeli government, American evangelicals, and private security firms. Reports documented repeated attacks on Palestinians waiting in line for food, leading to dozens of casualties and forcing thousands of families to choose between starvation and being shot.

Boston Consulting Group’s Role: Funding, Planning, and Complicity

The Financial Times investigation confirmed that BCG signed a $4 million contract to help develop the GHF’s strategy over a seven-month period, involving over a dozen employees, including senior executives such as the firm’s Head of Risk Management and the Head of Social Impact.

More troublingly, BCG did not simply act as an advisor; it actively participated in designing a financial model for Gaza’s post-war reconstruction that included a resettlement scenario for Palestinians. Internal documents proposed a plan to "convince" more than 500,000 Palestinians to leave Gaza voluntarily in exchange for a $9,000 relocation package per person, under the assumption that 75% would never return.

The model even included logistics for population transfer, controlled border crossings, and reception centers in neighboring countries, all without any guarantee of return.

Retreat Under Fire: Contradictory Statements and Damage Control

Following public backlash, BCG released a statement announcing the termination of its partnership with GHF and a halt to all activities in Gaza. The company claimed it was “firmly opposed to any involvement in forced displacement,” calling the initiative a violation of its ethical standards.

The firm also launched an internal review of the project, placing one of the senior managers involved on temporary administrative leave.

However, observers argue the move was more about damage control than accountability. BCG failed to explain why it approved a financial model centered on mass displacement or who exactly commissioned and financed the contract in the first place.

Palestinian Response: “A Blueprint for Ethnic Cleansing”

In Gaza, the official response was swift. The Government Media Office issued a strong statement condemning BCG’s role, calling the project a “clear blueprint for the demographic emptying of Gaza disguised as humanitarian aid.”

The statement described “Project Aurora” as an externally funded ethnic cleansing plan, using corporate consultancy and humanitarian language to mask its real intentions.

Gazan authorities also called on the international community to hold those responsible accountable, cut funding to suspicious entities like GHF, and treat involvement in such projects as complicity in crimes against humanity.

Human Rights Organizations: A Dual Crime of Starvation and Displacement

Human rights groups echoed Gaza’s concerns. Human Rights Watch described the project as a “dual crime” of enforced starvation and systematic displacement, warning of the dangers of handing humanitarian operations over to private companies with no ethical oversight.

The United Nations expressed “grave concern” over the reports, emphasizing that any forced population transfer violates international law. UN spokespersons stated clearly that no relocation can be legal without the full, free consent of the population concerned.

A Reputational Collapse for BCG

Boston Consulting Group is one of the world’s leading consultancy firms, with operations in over 50 countries. It brands itself as a champion of social impact and sustainable development. Yet, this case raises serious questions about the moral responsibility of global firms when their expertise is used to facilitate population engineering under military occupation.

How could a firm that claims to drive “positive change” justify building a model that incentivizes the displacement of vulnerable people? How did consultants agree to a plan that manipulates poverty and desperation to push Palestinians out of their homeland?

This scandal also underscores the dangerous intersection between private capital and armed conflict, raising doubts about whether corporations can be trusted to manage aid in war-torn zones without advancing geopolitical agendas.

What’s Next? Calls for Accountability and Reform

The revelations have triggered international calls for transparency and accountability. Palestinian officials are demanding an independent international investigation, while multiple aid organizations have cut ties with the GHF. There is growing pressure to place BCG on watchlists of companies complicit in human rights violations.

Amid worsening conditions in Gaza, many fear that similar “humanitarian resettlement” models could be replicated elsewhere, especially if there is no legal or public backlash.

Without concrete action, aid frameworks could be weaponized, not to relieve suffering, but to reshape conflict zones according to foreign interests.

When "Humanitarian Aid" Becomes a Weapon of Displacement

The BCG-GHF case is not just a corporate misstep; it is a warning. It shows how easily humanitarian narratives can be exploited to implement projects of demographic engineering. While Palestinians are being shot at aid distribution points, international firms are drafting proposals to move them out permanently.

This is not just a policy debate; it’s a matter of survival for a besieged population. The people of Gaza, living under siege, bombardment, and hunger, are now faced with schemes to erase them quietly, under the banner of help.

And yet, their answer remains firm and clear:

"We are here. And we will not leave."

Sources: Financial Times, Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency,

Haaretz, Human Rights Watch, United Nations