Trump Peace Board Prepares Humanitarian Zones in Southern Gaza Outside Hamas Control

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is preparing pilot “humanitarian zones” in southern Gaza aimed at sheltering vetted Palestinian civilians outside Hamas control, according to a source familiar with the planning.

The zones would be administered by the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and secured by multinational troops from the International Stabilization Force. The effort is designed to create secure areas where civilians can receive shelter and basic services while the broader process of disarming Hamas and establishing new governance continues.

According to the source, requests for proposals have already been issued for preparatory work, including an ISF base and a police camp for the Gaza administration. Reuters also reported that the Board of Peace is looking at a pilot humanitarian zone as a way to revive Trump’s stalled Gaza peace plan, with participation expected to be voluntary and vetted by the NCAG and ISF.

Officials emphasized that the project should not be viewed as reconstruction or as a substitute for demilitarization. Under the second phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Hamas is required to surrender power, Gaza is to be deradicalized and disarmed, and the ISF would provide security in areas currently held by the Israeli military before reconstruction begins.

Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal and Musa Abu Marzouk, have rejected key parts of the next phase, particularly disarmament, despite Hamas having previously agreed to the plan in October 2025.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, has repeatedly said that the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups is a precondition for rebuilding the Strip.

A Board of Peace official told AFP that one pilot project under review could be located in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, and could accommodate tens of thousands of civilians who choose to enter voluntarily. The official said the ISF would serve as a buffer between Palestinian civilians and the Israel Defense Forces.

The source said Palestinians seeking to enter the zones would undergo screening to prevent terrorists from hiding among civilians. The IDF would not administer the zones or screen the population, and movement in and out would remain open to unarmed civilians, according to the source.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not comment on the reported arrangement. The IDF said the matter is known and under review, adding that it operates according to the directives of Israel’s political leadership.

The proposal comes as Gaza’s future remains tied to the central question that has haunted every ceasefire effort: whether Hamas will truly relinquish power and weapons, or whether humanitarian relief will again be exploited by the terrorist organization that brought ruin upon its own people.

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