Is Gaza on its way to being partitioned? “A de facto partition of Gaza between an area controlled by Israel and another ruled by Hamas is increasingly likely, multiple sources said, with efforts to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war beyond a ceasefire faltering,” Reuters claims in a report the morning of Nov. 11. “Six European officials with direct knowledge of the efforts to implement the next phase of the plan told Reuters it was effectively stalled and that reconstruction now appeared likely to be limited to the Israel-controlled area.”
A Nov. 10 report in The Atlantic suggests another reason—a plan by the U.S. to build “Alternate Safe Communities” of 25,000 people each on the Israeli side of the yellow line. “The initiative is designed to create communities of vetted Gazans, but it would separate them from those on the Hamas-controlled side of the yellow line, where the large majority of people in Gaza live,” The Atlantic says.
Not said in either report is that Israel is refusing to abide by the terms of the ceasefire, having killed more than 200 Palestinians since Oct. 9, and is refusing to allow in sufficient quantities of food, fuel, medical supplies, and other relief supplies, including tents and other shelter materials, among other violations. Hamas issued a lengthy statement on Nov. 10 that included a long list of Israeli violations that put the death toll at 271, of whom 91% were civilians and 58% of whom were children, women, and the elderly, “in a scene that reflects the occupation’s continued policy of systematic killing against the unarmed population.”
