The U.S. Department of State confirmed on Thursday its support for a plan to create “alternative safe communities” in the Gaza Strip. The plan, which has been part of discussions involving U.S. and Israeli officials, would focus reconstruction efforts in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking to Al Jazeera on Nov. 27, stated that the department supports the “approach” as “the most effective way to achieve” the goal of “moving people into safe accommodations as quickly as possible.”
According to media reports, including in The New York Times, the proposal involves dividing Gaza into two zones. A designated “green zone” under Israeli control would be eligible for reconstruction, while areas where Hamas operates, referred to as a “red zone,” would not. This would exclude regions like Gaza City and Deir el-Balah, where a significant portion of the population resides.
“Addressing the immediate need for secure housing in Gaza [is our] central concern,” the State Department spokesperson said. “US efforts are directed toward rebuilding in those parts of Gaza where the majority of the population currently resides.” The statement did not clarify if this meant reconstruction would also occur in non-Israeli-controlled areas or if the plan anticipates residents will move to the newly built communities.
Reports suggest the initial communities would be compounds designed to house 20,000 to 25,000 people in container-style housing units often used in disaster relief. Officials cited in The New York Times noted that the first such compound is months from completion. The total cost of rebuilding Gaza has been estimated at $70 billion, though funding sources for the wider reconstruction and the specific communities have not been publicly detailed.
The plan emerges over a month after a ceasefire began on Oct. 10. According to health officials in Gaza, more than 69,700 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. Since the ceasefire, an additional 347 fatalities have been reported amid periodic Israeli strikes. United Nations agencies report that approximately 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents are internally displaced, and that 92% of the territory’s housing has been damaged or destroyed.
Aid organizations and international officials have raised concerns about the proposal. Tamara Alrifai, a spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said the concept of providing services only in select areas conflicts with humanitarian principles.
“We deliver aid where people are,” Alrifai said. “We don’t provide services where we’d like people to be. That goes against the entire philosophy of aid and development.”
European diplomats, as reported by The New York Times, expressed concern that access to the proposed communities would be subject to Israeli security background checks. This could potentially exclude Palestinians who worked in civil service roles under the Hamas administration, as well as their families.
Officials from Arab and European nations, along with organizations like Refugees International, have stated the division of Gaza could lead to a permanent partition of the territory. The proposal has been discussed by Israeli officials, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking in April about building a new security corridor. In September, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described post-war Gaza in economic terms, stating he was in negotiations about how to divide the enclave.
Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank, questioned the plan’s viability. “Imposing an Israeli or American solution onto Gaza just isn’t going to work,” Mekelberg said. “Palestinians need to be part of any settlement, or it’s never going to be stable.”
