Get into construction: the United States is not fulfilling its promises on Gas
The second stage of the settlement in Gaza has stopped. The United States is not engaged in the reconstruction of the exclave, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Izvestia. Six months later, the new administration, in fact, has not started work. As Israel continues its attacks on Gaza, the situation is rapidly deteriorating. According to a new report by the UN Middle East Office, about 85% of families have already faced serious water shortages. Because of this, unsanitary conditions and skin diseases are spreading. How the war with Iran is exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza — in the Izvestia article.
What is happening with the settlement in the Gaza Strip
Israel is increasing its military presence in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest IDF reports, the army already controls up to 70% of the territory of the exclave. The settlement plan in Gaza has stalled, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Izvestia.
— We want to put pressure on Israel in the international arena. They occupy 70% of the Gaza Strip. They need to leave gradually. US President Donald Trump has offered us money, help, and people — we need to start doing something," the diplomat said.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the second stage of the settlement in Gaza back in January 2026. It includes the disarmament of Palestinian radical groups, the creation of a technocratic administration — in fact, a new government — and the beginning of reconstruction of the destroyed sector. None of this has been done.
According to the diplomat, the main task now is to provide access to Gaza to the National Committee for Sector Management (NCAG), which is currently forced to stay in Egypt. This temporary technocratic council was created with the support of the United Nations and the United States. According to Trump's peace plan, its members must enter the enclave through the southern border, but Israel does not allow them to enter.
At the same time, even Hamas finally officially agreed to transfer power to the NCAG in early July. On July 6, the head of the movement's Emergency Committee, Mohammed al-Farrah, resigned, after which the movement announced its dissolution. The Committee actually served as the Government in the Gaza Strip for two decades. The official representative of the movement, Hazem Qassem, explained that this step is intended to deprive the enemy of any pretexts for continuing the war and delaying reconstruction. Israel called the dissolution of the Hamas civilian apparatus only a political maneuver, since the movement flatly refuses to disarm. It is because of this that the IDF continues to block the entry of members of the transitional Committee.
In this situation, it is not the formal resignations that are important, but who really governs the region, said political analyst Alexander Kargin. According to him, the actual power in the sector is now shared by Israel and Hamas. The IDF controls most of the exclave, and the Islamic group, contrary to forecasts, was able to survive. The expert is convinced that the movement will not give up the real levers of control to either an independent committee or Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. In turn, Israel, with the support of the United States, has no plans to leave its positions — Washington has actually given the leadership of the Jewish state the green light for any action, concluded orientalist Elena Suponina.
The Palestinian Ambassador to Russia stressed that in order to start at least some kind of recovery, it is necessary to end the conflict in Iran.
— We need to stop the war with Iran so that the international arena can start thinking about what can be done in Gaza. We want peace, we want to stop the war, we want to start building what has been destroyed. And people there want to live a normal, human life," the diplomat told Izvestia. — But so far they (the USA — Ed.) have forgotten about Gas and are thinking only about Iran. But in fact, there is a big disaster in Gaza.
How are people living in Gaza now?
The humanitarian situation in the sector worsened during the month (from May to June). According to the latest report by UNRWA, the United Nations Middle East office, 84% of local families have already faced water shortages. For 62%, her search has become a more serious problem than the lack of food.
During the conflict, 88% of wells and boreholes in the region were destroyed, as well as 84% of water supply facilities were damaged. Due to a shortage of fuel for generators, the largest desalination plants stopped. As a result, 70% of the population receives less than 6 liters of water per day. This is two and a half times lower than the WHO minimum norm (15 liters). In the tent camps in the north of the sector, the situation is even worse: there is less than half a liter of water per person per day. Due to the blocking or closure of humanitarian points, local residents have to drink seawater or collect it from destroyed pipes where sewage enters. As a result, about 96% of the sector's groundwater is unsuitable for drinking. At the same time, commercial clean water has increased in price by 500%. For the vast majority of families, purchased water has become an unaffordable luxury.
The shortage of clean water has provoked a deep medical crisis. Currently, half of the hospitals in the sector are not working, and 90% of first-aid posts have run out of antibiotics. The most common causes of hospitalization are acute diarrhea and suspected hepatitis A. Skin and infectious diseases spread. Due to the lack of soap and antiseptics, people suffer massively from scabies and pediculosis. In the tent cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah, millions of refugees live close to each other, so the parasites spread instantly.
The Israeli side strictly checks cargo at the border and restricts humanitarian supplies. Chlorine for disinfection, repair pipes, and even ordinary soap with antiseptics are often banned. Due to the potential for misuse, the Israeli authorities classify these basic household goods as "dual-use" goods.
The prospects for the region's recovery were discussed on July 15 at an international donor conference, where the son-in-law of the US President, Jared Kushner, spoke via video link. He holds a key post in the "Peace Council" created by Donald Trump, a structure that has received broad powers to control the reconstruction of Gaza, but whose work has also stalled. The media called Kushner's speech restrained: he only focused on the leading role of the United States and praised international partners.
Elena Suponina believes that Washington is not determined to deeply solve the Palestinian problem. According to her, the Trump administration initially used a superficial approach, seeking only to mute rather than resolve the conflict. Now, the attention of the White House has finally been distracted by the new escalation in the Persian Gulf. The expert calls the only advantage of such a "freeze" that the number of victims in Gaza has significantly decreased after the agreement was concluded.
The protracted humanitarian and management crisis in the Gaza Strip clearly shows that Trump's peace plan remains only on paper. Israel's blocking of the transitional committee and strict restrictions on the import of basic household goods are condemning millions of refugees to live in terrible conditions. At the same time, none of the warring parties is ready to make real concessions: Hamas refuses to disarm, and the IDF firmly holds military control over most of the exclave.
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