Two months into an American-imposed ceasefire, the Trump Gaza plan remains stuck in its first phase, with Gaza divided between the warring parties, its people still displaced and surrounded by rubble.
A steady stream of water trickles through openings in the tent Ghadir al-Adham shares with her husband and six children in Gaza City. Her family is still displaced after the war and waiting for reconstruction to begin.
“Here we are, living a life of humiliation,” she told the BBC. “We want caravans. We want our homes rebuilt. We long for concrete to keep us warm. Every day I sit and cry for my children.”
Heavy rain has deluged camps and led several buildings to collapse, as a powerful winter storm sweeps through the Strip. More than 800,000 Gazans are at risk from flooding, the UN says, underlining the humanitarian pressures mounting as the Trump Gaza plan fails to move forward.
Sticking point over missing hostage
Plans for new homes – and new government – lie frozen in the next stage of US President Donald Trump’s peace deal, as the search continues for Israel’s last missing hostage, Ran Gvili.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Hamas must return all Israel’s hostages – living and dead – before the two sides move on to the next, more difficult stage of the Trump Gaza plan.
But several searches of Gaza’s rubble have so far shown no sign of him. Mr Gvili was captured during the 7 October Hamas attacks – a police officer, recovering from a broken shoulder, who went to defend nearby kibbutz Alumim.
His parents, Talik and Itzik, were told last year he had not survived.
The road to their home in Meitar, in southern Israel, is lined with banners paying tribute to him, the yellow flags of remembrance for Israel’s hostages fluttering alongside.
“They stole our kid, they stole him,” his mother Talik told the BBC.
“They know where he is,” Itzik said. “They just try to hide or keep him. They’re playing with us.”
They believe Hamas wants to keep their son as an insurance policy against future negotiations, after returning all the other hostages, both living and dead.
In response, a Hamas official told the BBC the allegations were untrue, and that Israel was trying to avoid implementing the agreement.
But with no sign of Ran’s body, and pressure from Washington growing, his parents say they are counting on Israel’s leaders not to move forward before their son is found.
“Everyone in Israel’s government says to us, ‘No, we don’t move to the second level until Ran comes back.’ This is their promise,” Talik said.
Many in Israel believe it would be politically difficult for Netanyahu to carry out the next steps in the Trump Gaza plan, including withdrawing Israeli forces further back towards Gaza’s perimeter, if even one hostage is still missing.
Time ‘running out’
Both Israel and Hamas face difficult concessions in the next stage of the Trump Gaza plan. For Hamas, it would mean handing over weapons and power. For Israel, handing over security to an international stabilisation force.
Retired General Israel Ziv, a former head of Israel’s military Operations Directorate, says leaders on both sides may be hesitating.
“Israel and Hamas are sharing the same interests not to move so fast into the second stage,” he told the BBC. “Hamas doesn’t want to lose control, and the Israeli side for political reasons also prefer to stay in Gaza, as nobody wants to explain to their base that they have to withdraw.”
He warned that delays could allow Hamas to reorganise.
“By waiting I think we might miss the opportunity because Hamas is reorganising and its strength is coming back,” he said. “We have to take a deep breath and go forward with that plan, because staying in the situation as it is, it’s the worst-case scenario.”
Disarming Hamas in a way both sides accept is seen as the first major hurdle. Without it, foreign countries are unlikely to commit troops, and reconstruction under the Trump Gaza plan would remain stalled in Hamas-controlled areas.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu suggested he was sceptical that foreign nations could fully replace Israel’s role.
“Our friends in America want to try to establish an international force that will do the job,” he said. “We know that there are certain tasks that this force can do. I don’t want to go into detail – they can’t do everything.”
Trump eager to move fast
Gaza is currently divided by the so-called “yellow line”, marking the limits of Israeli forces under the first stage of the ceasefire.
Israel’s military chief of staff recently referred to it as a “new border line”, prompting accusations that Israel intends to remain there long term if the Trump Gaza plan falters.
Key issues, including how to disarm Hamas, are expected to be discussed when Netanyahu meets Trump in Florida later this month.
The US president, who brokered the ceasefire and pushed his peace initiative through the UN Security Council, has made clear he wants rapid progress. He has said he will announce the membership of a newly created Board of Peace for Gaza early next year.
There are also reports that, under pressure from Washington, Israel has begun clearing rubble in preparation for temporary housing projects in Rafah, in the south of Gaza.
The housing could shelter tens of thousands of people, on condition they cross into Israeli-held areas and submit to security checks. Some see this as an attempt to isolate Hamas.
However, many Gazans – even those opposed to Hamas – say they refuse to live under Israeli control.
It offers a glimpse of an alternative future if the second stage of the Trump Gaza plan fails: a Gaza that is not only devastated, but increasingly divided.
Source: BBC
Also read: Declassified UK reveals British bases’ role in Gaza
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