As the fragile ceasefire in Gaza holds, a new idea is gaining popularity: dividing the Strip into two areas. On the one hand, life under the grip of Hamas, on the other hand, a vision of what life would be like without the terrorist group.
With Arab states signaling they will not fund reconstruction as long as the terror group remains in power, U.S. and Israeli officials are weighing a new approach — rebuilding in parts of Gaza still under Israeli control — behind what Israeli officials call the “yellow line.” The hope, experts explain, is to create a living example of peace and recovery that could lead to change in the areas still ruled by Hamas.
The areas currently under Israeli control, behind the so-called ‘yellow line’, cover roughly 58% of the Gaza Strip, including all of Rafah in the south, large parts of Khan Younis and northern neighborhoods such as Beit Lahia and Shujaiyya. Hamas controls the remaining territory, including densely populated Gaza City. Despite the IDF presence, Hamas operatives remain active near the front lines.
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The IDF announced that as part of the ceasefire and in accordance with the directives of the political echelon, IDF forces under the Southern Command have begun marking the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to achieve tactical clarity on the ground. (IDF)
John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, described the plan to divide Gaza into two separate zones — one under Israeli control and the other under Hamas — making reconstruction a “practical and psychological test on the Israeli side, a way to show Gazans what life could be like without Hamas.”
Spencer used the term “Disneyland strategy” to describe the concept, which he said was borrowed from the U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq.
“You take a piece of the problem – here we are talking about the terrain – and you clean up all the bad: Hamas, tunnels, weapons, everything,” he said. “Then you let citizens in and you build something new: markets, buildings, schools, electricity. We called it Disneyland because we wanted it to look like hope, like the future.”
He said the idea follows the “clear, hold, build” model used in Iraq and Afghanistan, where troops secured neighborhoods one by one. “In Ramadi we did it neighborhood by neighborhood until we covered the entire city,” he said. “You hold it, clean it up, let the locals take over. It’s historically proven. You don’t have to rid Gaza of Hamas to start doing this.”
The goal, Spencer said, is to give Gazans — and the world — a tangible glimpse of life without Hamas.
Days after a ceasefire took effect, Gazans shop at a market in central Gaza on October 18, 2025. (TPS-IL)
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“You’re building a little piece of goodness, a little Disneyland, to show everyone what’s possible,” he said. “It would also show the countries that will provide stabilization forces something they could do: stabilize liberated areas that Hamas is not in.”
Still, he cautioned that the concept is not a panacea. “You will have areas on the other side of the line where Hamas thinks they are in control,” he said. “Building something without Hamas is just as important to defeat Hamas as it is to show people that there is a future.”
“We do not want to remain under Hamas. It is very frightening for us to hear that Jared Kushner said that reconstruction will only take place in the areas that Hamas does not control. Trump and Netanyahu said that Hamas will end – but look what is happening. They are back, stronger, and we are still stuck.”
In this still from a verified social media video, confirmed to Reuters by a Hamas source, seven men are forced to their knees and shot from behind by Hamas gunmen during public executions in Gaza on October 14, 2025. (Reuters)
‘There is enough food – yes, there is food available in the markets, all of it types of food‘ he continued. ‘All merchandise is available again and prices are getting lower. Life is back, but destruction is what we see everywhere.”
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For some on this side of the yellow line, the prospect of rebuilding a new Gaza on the other side – even a small one – feels like freedom.
Hamas terrorists emerge in a show of force, escorting Red Cross vehicles carrying three Israeli hostages to be released as part of the ceasefire. (TPS-IL)
He accused Hamas of turning its guns inward during the ceasefire. “We demand that the entire international community protect us from the terror of Hamas,” he said. “We are not fighting for anyone’s rule. We are fighting for a dignified life. We are fighting for a new Gaza.”
Multiple sources say Israel has already offered limited support to al-Astal and other anti-Hamas factions on the ground.
Both Spencer and Braude agree that the emerging “two Gazas” reality is not accidental – it is built into the Trump administration’s strategy. 20 point plan.
People carry boxes of aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private, US-backed aid group that has bypassed the long-standing UN-led system in the territory, as displaced Palestinians return from an aid distribution center in the central Gaza Strip in June. 8, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
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“We are approaching a new reality in which it is feasible for reconstruction to begin in part of the Gaza Strip – the areas behind the yellow line – while fighting continues in the rest of Gaza,” Braude said. “Hamas is not a party to the peace process but a combative actor. Reconstruction is not dependent on Hamas’ cooperation. It starts where Hamas can no longer operate, while efforts to eliminate its presence continue in other parts of the Gaza Strip.”
Braude said the plan envisions “emerging enclaves of self-government that will gradually grow into a coalition – the basis for what could be called a Gazan interim transitional authority.”
He concluded: “Developing local forces to counter Hamas is a capability that Gazans and Israel and its allies are eager to see,” he said. “Building a functioning government with continuity, a rules-based system and institutions – that is the harder work.”
