Exclusive: US Military Blueprint Reveals Partitioned Future for Gaza
The United States is advancing controversial plans to permanently divide Gaza into separate zones, with a secured 'green zone' under Israeli and international military control while the majority of Palestinians remain in a devastated 'red zone' where no reconstruction is planned.
According to exclusive military planning documents obtained by the Guardian and sources briefed on American strategy, foreign forces will initially deploy alongside Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza, maintaining the current Israeli-controlled 'yellow line' as the dividing boundary.
Almost all of Gaza's 2 million Palestinian residents have been displaced to the coastal 'red zone', which covers less than half of the territory's total area and will be left in ruins under the current planning.
Shifting Plans and International Resistance
The US approach to Gaza's future has been marked by rapid changes and apparent improvisation in addressing one of the world's most complex conflicts. Earlier proposals for fenced-in camps called 'alternative safe communities' were abandoned this week, according to a US official speaking anonymously.
Humanitarian organisations expressed concern that they had not been notified about these significant changes to planning, despite repeatedly raising major objections to the camp model.
The core of the new strategy involves creating an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) of up to 20,000 troops, though the US faces substantial challenges in securing commitments from potential contributing nations.
Initial US military documents from Centcom command envisioned European forces forming the backbone of the ISF, including up to 1,500 British infantry soldiers with bomb disposal and medical expertise, and up to 1,000 French troops for road clearance and security operations.
However, these plans have been described as 'delusional' by one source, given European leaders' reluctance to risk soldiers' lives in Gaza after lengthy missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Limited Palestinian Role and Reconstruction Challenges
The division plan raises serious questions about Washington's commitment to establishing Palestinian rule across Gaza, despite previous promises from the Trump administration.
Under the current proposal, a new Palestinian police force would play only a limited security role, starting with just 200 recruits and eventually growing to 3,000-4,000 officers - representing only one-fifth of the planned international security deployment.
Reconstruction would begin exclusively in the 'green zone', with US planners hoping that improved conditions there would eventually convince Palestinian civilians to cross the Israeli-controlled line voluntarily.
More than 80% of structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the two-year war, including nearly all schools and hospitals, according to United Nations data.
The humanitarian situation remains dire, with nearly 1.5 million Palestinians waiting for emergency shelter and hundreds of thousands living in tents without access to clean water or basic services.
Despite the ceasefire being in place for over a month, Israel continues to restrict aid shipments into Gaza, including basic items like tent poles that it classifies as having potential 'dual use' for military purposes.
Mediators have warned that without a workable plan for international peacekeeping, Israeli withdrawal, and large-scale rebuilding, Gaza risks slipping into a dangerous limbo - what one described as 'not war but not peace' - with regular Israeli attacks, entrenched occupation, and limited reconstruction of Palestinian communities.
