According to details first reported by The Guardian, foreign troops would be stationed alongside Israeli personnel in Gaza’s eastern corridor, locking in the current ‘yellow line’ that already partitions the war torn enclave. The plan, critics say, casts a long shadow over Washington’s own pledge to support a ceasefire that restores full Palestinian governance.
Analysts observing the situation describe Gaza’s future as being reshaped ‘on the fly, reflecting an urgent effort to deliver food, shelter, and basic aid to more than two million displaced Palestinians. Under the emerging proposal, reconstruction would begin exclusively in the Green Zone, while the earlier idea of forming so-called ‘alternative safe communities’ has quietly been shelved.
International human rights groups have responded with blunt warnings, arguing that without a full Israeli withdrawal and a sweeping rebuilding effort, Gaza is at risk of slipping into a permanent limbo, neither secure nor sovereign. European governments, asked to anchor a multinational peace force, have shown notable hesitation, citing the heavy toll of past deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The initial force is expected to be only a few hundred personnel, potentially scaling up to 20,000 troops, though they would remain strictly within the Green Zone to avoid what officials call unnecessary entanglements. Diplomats caution that such an arrangement may create a fragile reality of neither war nor peace, where sporadic Israeli strikes continue, Palestinian authority remains narrowed, and reconstruction advances only in fragments.
Despite the sweeping nature of the plan, the documents offer no clear timetable for an Israeli pull out, and limit the role of Palestinian police. With more than 80% of Gaza already destroyed, families left in the Red Zone remain homeless, exposed, and reliant on aid supplies that continue to face Israeli restrictions.
One US official admitted to the Guardian, ‘Restoring the whole region would have been ideal, but the idea has stayed stuck on paper. It won’t be simple, and it won’t be quick.’
Experts say the unfolding strategy raises difficult questions about how serious Washington truly is about transforming last month’s temporary ceasefire into a lasting peace deal, one that guarantees real Palestinian self-rule rather than a patchwork of controlled enclaves.
