US-backed Board of Peace poised to launch pilot program to build and maintain shelters in parts of Gaza under Israeli control, while encouraging Gazans to leave areas under Hamas rule.By World Israel News StaffThe US-backed Board of Peace is preparing to open its first Hamas-free humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip within weeks, beginning with a pilot program in Tel Sultan near Rafah, according to a report in Israel Hayom.The project is intended to create protected areas for civilians who are not armed and are not affiliated with Hamas, while shifting food and medical aid into zones administered outside the terror group’s control.The plan is part of the implementation of Section 17 of President Donald Trump’s Gaza framework, which calls for temporary rehabilitation in parts of the Strip no longer controlled by Hamas.Multinational forces overseen by the Board of Peace are expected to deploy near the new zones and operate from a facility built at Camp Amitai near Gaza, Israel Hayom reported. They are expected to carry nonlethal weapons to help maintain order, while the IDF remains positioned beyond the so-called yellow line and continues to hold territory inside Gaza.The program’s immediate goal is to separate civilians from Hamas’s governing and military structures.Food, medical care and other services would be provided inside the shelters, with caravans used instead of permanent reconstruction.Officials familiar with the plan said no concrete would be brought in at this stage, reflecting concern that building materials could be diverted for military purposes.The concept is designed to pressure Hamas from two directions: Israel would continue expanding security control over parts of Gaza, while the Board of Peace would draw civilians into areas beyond Hamas’s reach. Officials who have seen the plans hope the process will gradually deprive Hamas of population, territory and resources.Board officials told Israel Hayom that Gazans who enter the new areas would not be blocked from leaving. The intention, they said, is for the zones “not to be a prison.”Critics, including some residents of Israeli communities near Gaza, argue that the effort is premature while Hamas remains armed.They warn that the group could still influence who enters and exits the zones, intimidate civilians or exploit the humanitarian compounds for its own purposes.Israeli officials backing the plan say it is the most practical way to begin building an alternative to Hamas rule without waiting for the group to voluntarily disarm.Officials familiar with the Board of Peace’s work said the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to help administer Gaza will not enter areas under Hamas control while the group retains its weapons.“No one intends to wait for Hamas,” the officials said.The dispute reflects the broader deadlock over Trump’s postwar Gaza plan. Hamas has refused to disarm, while the United States has restrained Israel from fully resuming major combat operations. Within those limits, Israeli officials say the IDF is stepping up targeted strikes against Hamas members and trying to prevent the group from rebuilding its military capabilities.“We are maneuvering within the American constraints, increasing the pace of eliminations while staying below the threshold of international criticism, and this will continue as long as Hamas is not prepared to demilitarize,” a political source told Israel Hayom.The Board of Peace’s lead Gaza envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, warned the United Nations Security Council in May that the current division of Gaza could become entrenched, with Hamas continuing to control much of the population while Israeli troops remain in large parts of the territory.“The risk is that the deteriorating status quo becomes permanent – a divided Gaza, Hamas holding military and administrative control over 2 million people across less than half the territory,” Mladenov said.He said reconstruction would not advance in areas where armed groups remained in control. “Reconstruction financing will not follow where weapons have not been laid down. No investment, no movement, no horizon,” he told the council.The Board of Peace has also faced scrutiny over its legal structure and the scope of protections sought for its personnel and contractors. The Guardian reported last week that a draft resolution would grant broad immunity to board members, affiliated personnel, international forces and contractors operating in Gaza.The post Board of Peace to create ‘Hamas free’ zones, encourage Gazans to move to Israeli side of Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.