Egyptian diplomats and security experts have warned of serious regional repercussions amid growing concerns that Israel’s approach to Gaza’s reconstruction could effectively divide the war-torn enclave for years to come.
According to six European officials familiar with ongoing diplomatic efforts, the next phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict is likely to restrict reconstruction to areas under Israeli control. They cautioned that such an approach could lead to a de facto division of Gaza, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ambassador Mohamed El-Orabi told Al Arabia that Cairo is closely watching these developments. “There are fears of Israeli intentions to partition Gaza,” he said, adding that “Egypt is capable of thwarting such attempts, just as it successfully blocked previous displacement schemes.”
El-Orabi stressed that separating what is referred to as the “yellow line” from Gaza is unacceptable. He warned that Israel’s proposal to begin reconstruction only in areas under its control amounts to an indirect and undeclared plan to divide the Strip — a move rejected by Egypt, the Palestinian people, and the broader Arab and Islamic world.
“Reconstruction must cover the entire Gaza Strip, not selective areas,” he said, noting that any attempt to treat the “yellow line” as a permanent border could turn a temporary military demarcation into a lasting political division.
Echoing these concerns, Major General Ahmed El-Shehhat, an expert in regional and international security, described the potential partition as “a systematic plan that has existed for a long time.”
Meanwhile, El-Shehhat said Israel has used the aftermath of the Oct. 7 events as a pretext to advance long-term objectives. “What is happening now goes beyond a reaction to October 7 — it is about creating a new occupation reality and enforcing security arrangements that divide Gaza into northern, central, and southern zones,” he said.
He compared the situation to the divisions created in the West Bank under the Oslo Accords (Areas A, B, and C), where varying levels of administrative and security control exist. “The current Israeli government aims to impose a similar structure in Gaza while establishing security buffer zones across the enclave,” he added.
According to El-Shehhat, Israel’s goal is to separate Gaza’s north, center, and south — a process that could pave the way for forced displacement and demographic changes. “There are clear efforts to make the north uninhabitable and push civilians southward, preparing the ground for a partition plan aligned with Israeli strategies,” he warned.
He emphasized that neither the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, nor any Palestinian faction would accept such a plan, noting that all parties are working to expose and counter it.
European officials have similarly cautioned that without a significant shift in the positions of Hamas or Israel — or stronger U.S. pressure on Tel Aviv to involve the Palestinian Authority and advance a two-state framework — the Trump plan is unlikely to progress beyond a ceasefire arrangement. In the absence of renewed diplomacy, they warned, the so-called “yellow line” could become a lasting de facto boundary dividing Gaza indefinitely.
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