US plans to divide Gaza

US plans long-term division of Gaza into "green zone" under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction will begin, and a "red zone" that will be left in ruins, documents seen by the "Guardian" show.

According to US military planning documents seen by the "Guardian" and sources familiar with the US plans, foreign forces will initially deploy alongside Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza, leaving the devastated strip west of the Israeli-controlled so-called "yellow line".

The newspaper says the US military plans raise serious questions about Washington's commitment to turning last month's ceasefire into a lasting political agreement with a Palestinian Authority in Gaza, which was promised by Donald Trump.

Plans for Gaza's future are changing at breakneck speed, reflecting a chaotic, improvised approach to resolving one of the world's most complex and intractable conflicts and providing aid, including food and shelter, to 2 million Palestinians.

After weeks of the US encouraging the reconstruction of fenced-off camps for small groups of Palestinians, called "alternative safe communities", those plans were withdrawn this week, a US official told the "Guardian". The newspaper warns that without a workable plan for international peacekeeping, a withdrawal of Israeli troops and large-scale reconstruction, Gaza risks falling into a stalemate after two years of devastating war.

The mediators have warned of a situation that is "not war, but not peace" in a divided Gaza - with regular Israeli attacks, an entrenched occupation, a lack of Palestinian self-rule and limited reconstruction of Palestinian homes and communities.