Displaced Palestinians carry relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as they return from aid distribution centers in Rafah to their tents in southern Gaza, May 29, 2025. (Credit: AFP)
Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s most prestigious strategy consulting firms, which was involved in the creation and rollout of the highly controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), also modeled the costs of relocating Palestinians from Gaza, according to a Financial Times investigation published Friday, citing multiple informed sources.
The BCG team reportedly developed a financial model for Gaza’s post-conflict reconstruction, which included cost estimates for relocating hundreds of thousands of Palestinians outside the enclave, as well as the economic impact of such mass displacement. One scenario projected that more than 500,000 Gazans would leave Gaza with “relocation packages” worth $9,000 per person — around $5 billion in total. Another, more detailed scenario proposed $5,000 in cash, subsidized rent for four years, and food for one year. The model estimated that 25% of the population would leave Gaza, with 75% of those not returning.
Although BCG has stated it did not design the relocation plan itself, the modeling sparked major internal controversy in late May. The firm withdrew from the project on May 25, forfeited its fees, and dismissed the two partners involved, according to the Financial Times.
This project constituted the second major component of a collaboration launched in late 2024 through a mission commissioned by Orbis, a Washington-area security firm, to conduct a feasibility study for a new humanitarian operation ordered by the Israeli think tank Tachlith Institute.
BCG was reportedly selected due to its ties to Phil Reilly, a former CIA officer who became an advisor to BCG’s defense division before founding Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), the security contractor for the operation.
The other main component of the project involved establishing and supporting the rollout of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by both Israel and the United States, as well as assisting an affiliated security company. According to a U.N. statement released Friday, more than 500 people have been killed around GHF distribution sites since the end of May.
Public apology
The public apology and dismissal of the two BCG partners involved in this Israeli-American initiative were announced in early June by BCG CEO Christoph Schweizer. He said he had launched a “formal investigation” to ensure that “this does not happen again.” At the time, however, only the GHF component of the project was publicly known.
GHF currently operates four distribution sites in Gaza, in a militarized configuration secured by American private contractors and Israeli forces. Last week, the United States announced $30 million in funding for the initiative, though the precise origin of these funds remains unclear. The U.N. has described GHF as a “fig leaf” for Israeli war aims, and several humanitarian organizations have refused to cooperate with it.
BCG has provided limited public information on the extent of its involvement, initially describing the project as a pro bono effort launched in October 2024 “to help establish a humanitarian organization operating alongside other relief efforts.”
