Gaza reconstruction scaled back to Rafah pilot project under US-backed Board of Peace
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The Trump administration’s Gaza reconstruction plan has been scaled back to a limited pilot project near Rafah, focusing on a temporary settlement rather than territory-wide rebuilding, The Guardian reports.
Under the revised proposal, led by the US-backed Board of Peace (BoP), the Rafah pilot would provide portable housing, a Palestinian civilian administration, a locally trained police force and an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) responsible for security. Officials familiar with the planning told The Guardian the initiative is unlikely to be operational before the end of 2026.
Preparatory steps are under way: a small contingent of Moroccan and Kosovan officers has arrived in Israel to form the first elements of the proposed ISF, and a logistics facility at the Kerem Shalom crossing is nearing completion. But satellite imagery reviewed by the newspaper shows no permanent construction at the proposed Rafah site, and significant progress is not expected before Israel’s parliamentary elections on October 27.
Reconstruction across Gaza remains stalled amid ongoing military operations and restrictions on humanitarian supplies, despite last October’s ceasefire. Western diplomats told The Guardian that the pace and scope of rebuilding will likely hinge on political developments after Israel’s vote. One diplomat said shrinking the plan aims to keep a recovery effort alive and prevent more hardline alternatives from taking over.
Security and funding present major hurdles. The ISF is expected to number roughly 5,000 personnel from Morocco, Kosovo and possibly Albania and Kazakhstan, but Israeli approval for the force and for deployment of a Palestinian police unit has not been granted. Training for Palestinian police has not begun, and legal arrangements for a multinational force remain unresolved.
Only a fraction of pledged funds for the broader recovery programme have been delivered, The Guardian reported. The BoP is exploring options such as using Palestinian tax revenues and frozen financial assets held by Israel to finance the pilot, a move opposed by the Palestinian Authority, which insists such funds belong to the Palestinian people and should be released unconditionally.
Palestinian officials have cautioned that temporary measures must not replace a political settlement, while committee members overseeing Gaza’s administration warned that concentrating aid in a single pilot zone could leave much of the displaced population without adequate access to assistance.
The Board of Peace, proposed by US President Donald Trump in September 2025 and launched in January 2026, is a 27-member body chaired by Trump with former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov as its High Representative. It was created to oversee Gaza’s proposed post-war governance, reconstruction and security.