The Gaza Strip appears headed toward a de facto partition, with Israel consolidating control over key regions while Hamas clings to shrinking territory in the ruins of Gaza City.
Multiple diplomatic sources confirm that the next stage of President Donald Trump’s peace and reconstruction plan has stalled, largely due to reluctance from European and Arab governments to commit forces or funding while Hamas remains entrenched.
Under the plan’s first stage, implemented on October 10, the IDF controls about 53% of Gaza, including farmland, Rafah, and major urban centers. The remaining territory—mostly devastated city blocks and refugee camps—remains under Hamas’s rule, where nearly 2 million Gazans struggle amid the destruction the terror group brought upon them.
Washington has proposed a UN resolution to authorize a multinational peacekeeping force and a transitional authority for two years, but diplomats say few countries are willing to send troops—especially if that means confronting Hamas directly.