CW Note

CWA # 1807
CW Note
The War in Gaza: US Post-War Plans and Global Accountability Efforts

Brighty Ann Sarah and R Preetha
4 September 2025

Photo Source: AFP

In the news
On 3 September, Hamas reiterated its willingness to negotiate a comprehensive deal for the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners. The statement follows President Donald Trump calling on Hamas to release all 20 hostages.

On 2 September, The Washington Post reported on the Trump administration’s plans for post-war Gaza, turning the region “into a trusteeship administered by the United States for at least 10 years while it is transformed into a gleaming tourism resort and high-tech manufacturing and technology hub.” On the same day, Israel called up 40,000 reserve soldiers to intensify its offensive on Gaza. 

On 1 September, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution declaring that Israel's actions in Gaza have “met the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948).”

On 31 August, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a warning that Israel’s attempts to evacuate Gaza are unfeasible and that “Palestinians in Gaza are physically and psychologically unable to comply with these orders.”

On 30 August, the US State Department denied visas to the Palestinian delegation, led by President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials, for the UN General Assembly session in New York, where the ‘two-state solution’ was set to be discussed. 

Issues at large
First, the US plan to resettle Gazans and responses from Arab states. According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration envisions a US-administered Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration, and Transformation Trust (GREAT Trust) for a period of ten years, relocating its 2.1 million residents to transform the enclave into a tourism and high-tech hub. The 38-page prospectus proposes “voluntary” relocation abroad or to secured zones within Gaza during reconstruction, projecting a USD 100 billion revenue stream. Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, rejected a similar call by Trump to “take over” Gaza in February 2025.. Palestinians and other Western countries said “it would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing and illegal under international law.” In March, a USD 53 billion reconstruction plan, as an alternative to Trump’s idea, was adopted by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo. 

Second, a background to Hamas’ willingness to accept a ceasefire. The group had earlier rejected proposals requiring complete disarmament. Instead, it demanded full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent lifting of the blockade, and an end to the war without conditions on its military capabilities. The July 2025 Doha talks subsequently collapsed when Israel insisted on Hamas’s dismantlement, while Hamas maintained it would accept only a permanent ceasefire and rejected any temporary arrangement. In August, Arab countries came out in favour of disarming Hamas, a key Israeli demand. On 18 August, Hamas accepted a 60-day truce, under which half of the remaining hostages in Gaza would be released in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. This decision comes amid increased pressure on the group from Arab governments and other Palestinian factions, in the backdrop of the planned Israeli offensive in Gaza City. 

Third, international genocide warnings on Israel’s actions. The International Association of Genocide Scholars highlighted Israel’s deliberate violence against civilians, including children, starvation, deprivation of human aid, sexual and reproductive violence, and forced displacement. Israel’s campaign traces an escalating sequence: political disenfranchisement and apartheid-like restrictions in the occupied territories; dehumanising rhetoric; and blockade of food, water, electricity, and aid, enabling wide-scale military force. South Africa internationalised the allegations first by petitioning the International Court of Justice in December 2023 under the Genocide Convention. In April 2024, UN special rapporteur to Palestine Francesca Albanese submitted “Anatomy of a Genocide,” a report echoed by the November 2024 UN Special Committee report identifying use of starvation as a weapon and mass civilian casualties as “consistent with genocide.”

Fourth, the exclusion of the Palestinian delegation from the UNGA. The unilateral exclusion of the delegation contradicts the UN’s foundational principle of universality and the equal representation of all member and observer states. Palestine has been a UN observer state since 2012. The rescission also violates the 1947 Headquarters Agreement, which obliges the US, as the host country, to ensure access for all diplomatic delegations without discrimination. 

In perspective
First, the day-after plans for Gaza are increasingly implying investment prospectuses. The recent reports on US trusteeship over Gaza, and its reconstruction as a “Riviera of the Middle East,” with the GREAT Trust, aim for economic incentives and position Gaza as a lucrative investment rather than a post-war developmental policy. Most plans involve the displacement of the Palestinian population rather than assistance to rebuild the community. This threatens to create a situation where humanitarian needs are consistently sidelined in the pursuit of economic gains.

Second, the absence of accountability despite repeated warnings from international bodies and experts that Israel’s actions in Gaza may amount to genocide. It has revealed structural weakness in enforcing legal frameworks designed to prevent mass atrocities. For the Palestinian population, it means that international legal safeguards offer little real protection. In general, it erodes the credibility of international frameworks and sets a precedent for impunity within the international system.

About the author
Brighty Ann Sarah and R Preetha are postgraduate students at the Department of International Studies, Stella Maris College, Chennai. 

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