Gaza is Divided and Could Remain That Way Unless Hamas Disarms

President Trump succeeded in getting phase one of his peace plan enacted. That meant a ceasefire in which all of the 20 living Israeli hostages were returned to Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza. (Hamas was supposed to return the deceased hostages as well but it seems that is going to take a bit longer to accomplish.)

But the big question has been whether or not Trump’s team could move on from a successful phase one of the plan to phase two, which everyone agrees is the tougher part. In phase two, Hamas is supposed to disarm itself in exchange for funds to rebuild Gaza and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces. The general consensus is that Hamas is unlikely to ever give up its weapons. On the contrary, the group has suggested it is happy for a long ceasefire in which they remain in control of Gaza.

Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period, a senior Hamas official told Reuters, adding he could not commit to the group disarming – positions that reflect the difficulties facing U.S. plans to secure an end to the war.

Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza, with guarantees for what happens afterwards depending on Palestinians being given “horizons and hope” for statehood.

Israel is not okay with this alternative to disarmament.

Asked for comment on Nazzal’s remarks, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel was committed to the ceasefire agreement and continued to uphold and fulfil its side of the plan.

“Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas are to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas need to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time,” it said in a statement to Reuters.

The Hamas plan is also not what the Trump administration wants. As Ed reported earlier, President Trump is warning that if Hamas doesn’t disarm, they will be eradicated.

Vice-President JD Vance just arrived in Israel today and he repeated that warning, though he also made clear that making disarmament happen is going to take some time.

Vice President Vance ‘optimistic’ about Gaza ceasefire, says Hamas will be ‘obliterated’ if it does not cooperatehttps://t.co/95AbhTcBP0 pic.twitter.com/96HqAtIRt0

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 21, 2025

But in my view the most interesting development today came from Jared Kushner who was at the same press conference with VP Vance. Kushner indicated that, moving forward, no reconstruction aid would be given to Hamas controlled areas of Gaza. Here’s his comment along with a map of Gaza as it is currently divided between Hamas and the IDF.

Jared Kushner confirms my report.

“No reconstruction aid will go into Hamas controlled areas” https://t.co/3ey0047pEt pic.twitter.com/LHsvRjuCcN

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 21, 2025

So Hamas is thinking they can retain control of Gaza while reconstruction happens and I have no doubt there plan is to siphon off money for legitimate projects and use it to rebuild their tunnels and infrastructure in preparation for the next attack on Israel. But what Kushner is saying is that any part of Gaza controlled by Hamas won’t be reconstructed. Instead, that money will only flow into the areas controlled by the IDF. If this drags out, you could essentially have two Gazas. The one under IDF control would be rebuilt and presumably full of people and the one held by Hamas would remain an area full of rubble with no investment to improve it.

I’m sure Hamas can steal construction supplies the same way it stole food supplies, but this plan might actually make things pretty difficult for them. If they want to see Israel out of Gaza and the entire thing rebuilt, they need to surrender their weapons. It still sounds like a longshot but I’m glad to see that, so far, Kushner seems to have a plan to keep the pressure on Hamas to finally surrender as the peace plan requires.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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