Report: Trump envoy told Netanyahu US will delay rebuilding north Gaza until buffer zone is secured

Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, January 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, January 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has reportedly promised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will postpone the process of rebuilding northern Gaza until security plans are agreed upon to ensure the security of Israeli communities near the border with the Strip.

Al-Araby Al Jadeed cites an American plan, to be funded by the US and Gulf countries, to prevent a reoccurrence of the Hamas terror group’s brutal October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel that sparked over 15 months of fighting in Gaza.

The report claims that Washington wants to delay reconstruction in northern Gaza to make the area uninhabitable in the long term and to promote US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal that Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Strip to “just clean out” the war-torn area.

Israel began to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza this week, under a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Iran-backed terror group that came into effect last week.

Reconstruction of northern Gaza is set to begin in the final stage of the three-phase accord.

Most Popular
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.