US plans ‘temporary housing’ in Gaza behind Israeli lines: Report
A new displacement camp in Nuseirat, central Gaza, pictured on 11 November 2025
Middle East Eye reports on 11 November 2025:
The US is weighing a plan to build housing for thousands of “screened” Palestinians behind the so-called yellow line in Gaza, which is occupied by Israeli troops, according to a report by The Atlantic published on Monday.
The US and Israeli officials working on the plan termed them as “Alternate Safe Communities”. Palestinians would be screened for “anti-Hamas” sentiment before being granted entry into the compounds.
The proposal was discussed in an email by US Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, who is heading the civil-military coordination centre overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, which has been marred by regular Israeli violations.
In an email reported by The Atlantic, Frank said that each settlement should include a medical centre, a school, an administrative building, and temporary housing for about 25,000 people. But the Atlantic reported that the plan is constantly shifting, and the number of occupants slated to live in the developments changes “almost by the day”.
“A team of US, UK, and Israeli military officials working on the project has already revised the intended occupancy of each community down to about 6,000, from an original estimate of 25,000,” the Atlantic reported.
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, publicly floated the idea of the US and its partners reconstructing parts of Gaza occupied by Israeli troops, while leaving the war-ravaged enclave’s core, which is governed by Hamas, destroyed.
No timeline for Israeli withdrawal
The idea of dividing Gaza has plenty of pitfalls, but in recent weeks, two Arab diplomats familiar with the US peace plan said they were taking the US push seriously.
The Financial Times reported that the proposed plans have alarmed Arab states and European countries as potentially being the first step in a permanent occupation of a portion of Gaza.