US ‘New Gaza plan’ aims to start reconstruction, provide aid only in Israeli-held areas – but on the ground, nothing moves

Israel and the U.S. are planning to begin reconstruction and distribute aid in the Israeli-controlled 57% of the Gaza Strip once the ceasefire moves into its second phase – but it’s still unclear when that will happen, according to a report by Ynet News.

The outlet’s veteran war reporter, Ron Ben-Yishai, recently traveled along the Morag Corridor between the Khan Younis and Rafah areas, witnessing preparations for the plan but no concrete implementation of it.

At the moment, the ceasefire is still stuck in its first phase, as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad still haven’t handed over the bodies of Israeli hostage Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Gvili’s mother told Ynet that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the family in a recent phone call that he would “continue the efforts until the last hostage [is returned] and that he is not letting go, that they are making enormous efforts and not stopping, and it was a very clear promise.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew to the so-called Yellow Line on Oct. 10, and is now controlling around 57% of the enclave. The military regularly shoots at Gazans who cross the ceasefire line, which is marked on the ground with bright yellow concrete posts and blocks.

Meanwhile, the IDF continues to slowly eliminate two pockets of resistance in its territory, where terrorists were trapped in tunnels behind Israeli lines and have refused to surrender.

Once the last two hostage remains are handed over to Israel, the American CMCC (Civil Military Coordination Center) headquarters in Kiryat Gat will start to implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, dubbed the “New Gaza Plan.”

Ben-Yishai confirmed previous reports saying that the plan is to start reconstruction and aid distribution in Israeli-held territory, specifically in the city of Rafah.

According to him, the International Stabilization Force (ISF) is meant to enter the Israeli-held side of Gaza, and start securing new temporary neighborhoods where civilians who are not Hamas members will be allowed to live while the city of Rafah is cleared of rubble and rebuilt.

The temporary neighborhoods will be constructed on areas without rubble and 54financed by donor states and the United Nations. Reconstruction will move north in stages, starting in Rafah and then moving to Khan Younis and the other towns further north.

Civilians now living in the humanitarian zone in al-Muwasi will be invited to move there, and receive water and electricity while enjoying sewage infrastructure, hospitals, educational institutions and mosques.

They would also receive paid work in rubble-clearing and reconstruction projects.

Ben-Yishai noted that the IDF has already started constructing inspection points along the Yellow Line, where civilians can be screened using facial recognition and AI-based magnetometers to make sure that only people who are unaffiliated with Hamas are moving to the Israeli side.

However, the IDF has promised to screen large groups of civilians several times during the war, with mixed results. The ultimate intention is to completely empty the areas under Hamas control, mainly Muwasi, the central camps region and Gaza City, of uninvolved Palestinian civilians and move them to the new temporary housing areas.

Regarding aid distribution, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has announced it will cease operations. Instead, several new, small distribution centers will be established only on the Israeli side close to the yellow line under the supervision of international aid groups and the ISF.

Citing officers of the U.S. Central Command, Ben-Yishai reported that the plan is to let Hamas terrorists choose between surrender and disarmament, exile or slow starvation while continuing to fight IDF troops.

The American officers told him they believe that in this way, further IDF operations to capture additional areas will be unnecessary, as Hamas would eventually agree to surrender.

However, the implementation of the plan has not started, as the real-life creation of the ISF doesn’t appear close and the civilian administration of Gaza doesn’t exist yet. Ben-Yishai noted that the preparations of the IDF indicate it plans on maintaining its presence in Gaza for several more years.

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