A government, security and tools to rebuild : NPR

TEL AVIV, Israel — A shaky ceasefire remains in place in the Gaza Strip, but no one can claim complete control of the devastated area.

There is no functioning government in Gaza. Hamas is engaged in street battles with various Palestinian armed groups. Bulldozers and other construction equipment are desperately needed to clear away all the rubble left behind by two years of war, but they are in short supply.

And in the open fields outside the cities of Gaza, Israeli troops are on duty. They hold just over half of Gaza and periodically open fire when troops believe the Palestinians are getting too close to their positions.

Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor from Gaza, said that first phase of ceasefire in Gaza Strip under the President's watch, Trump was cheered by both Israelis and Palestinians.

But, he added, “the easy part has already been done. The toughest issues will be in the second phase of this Trump proposal, which means governance of the Gaza Strip, demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.”

Abusada teaches at Al-Azhar University in the Gaza Strip but left for Cairo shortly after the war began in October 2023. He wants to go home, but doesn't think he'll be back anytime soon as the area is badly damaged.

Ceasefire plan versus reality

The Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip was destroyed by the war, and ceasefire plan calls for the creation of a committee of Palestinian technocrats to temporarily govern the territory.

Egypt says there is currently a list of 15 Palestinians who could serve on the committee, adding that the names have been approved by Hamas and Israel.

However, names have not been announced and it is unclear when the committee will take over and what powers it will have to deal with issues of health, education, water supply, electricity and coordination with aid groups.

Hamas says it accepts the ceasefire deal's condition that it will not be part of the future government in the Gaza Strip, but it remains to be seen how this will be implemented in practice. Many government officials supported Hamas before the war.

Hamas police on the streets

On a critical security issue, Hamas civilian police are already back on the streets. During the war, they largely stayed out of sight to avoid being targeted by Israeli strikes.

Police perform everyday tasks such as traffic control. However, Hamas members have also engaged in deadly firefights with Palestinian clans, which are essentially armed gangs.

In a video widely circulated on social media, Hamas accused eight Palestinians of collaborating with Israel during the war. The accused were blindfolded and forced to kneel on a busy street. In front of a large crowd, Hamas gunmen executed the men with shots to the back of the head.

The summary executions have raised the prospect that Hamas will reassert its power and scare off any other group that challenges it.

Plan for a new Palestinian police force

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatti said his country is training about 5,000 new Palestinian police for Gaza. Preparations have been underway in Egypt in recent weeks, although it is unclear when new forces will arrive in Gaza or whether Hamas will accept the new authority.

The ceasefire also calls for Hamas to “decommission” its weapons. President Trump said Tuesday: “If they don't disarm, we will disarm them, and it will happen quickly and possibly violently.”

However, the Trump administration also said it would not send US troops to Gaza. The US is sending 200 soldiers to Israel. But the mission is to help plan, coordinate and monitor the ceasefire from a safe distance inside Israel, according to senior U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans.

The truce agreement also calls for an international stabilization force to be stationed in Gaza, although no country has yet committed to sending troops to the territory. Any such mission would involve significant risks if troops were placed between Israel and Hamas.

A massive reconstruction task

Ten bulldozers have begun clearing debris from Gaza's main roads, one small step in a reconstruction effort that will be measured in years, if not decades.

Gaza City Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj said this part of the cleanup work is being funded by Qatar, which has been a major donor to the Gaza Strip for many years.

Trump says he expects wealthy Arab states to provide reconstruction money, including Qatar, as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

United Nations predicts cost The cost of redeveloping the impoverished area is a staggering $70 billion. An estimated 90% of buildings in Gaza were damaged or destroyed.

Israel and Hamas have clashed repeatedly over the past quarter century, and parts of the Gaza Strip have been rebuilt repeatedly. Reconstruction has slowed due to ongoing tensions.

Israel places tight restrictions on supplies to Gaza and often limits or blocks supplies when it says it has information that Hamas is misusing these materials.

A prime example is concrete, an important ingredient for building houses. However, Hamas used vast quantities of imported concrete to build a vast network of underground tunnels throughout Gaza. Israel insists this will not happen again.

Recovery over the next six months will focus on a few key areas: clearing rubble, providing temporary housing, cash-for-work programs and reactivating the banking system.

However, even these initial steps will require a functioning government, a sense of stability and sufficient cooperation with Israel so that construction materials can flow into the territory on a regular basis.

NPR's Anas Baba contributed to this report from Gaza.

For more information, analysis and different perspectives on the conflict, click here npr.org/mideastupdates.