Gaza: The US Policy Record

Palestinian Deaths

50,000+

As of March 2026. Gaza Health Ministry. Approximately 70% women and children.

Displaced Persons

1.9 million

Approximately 90% of Gaza's population displaced at peak.

Israeli Deaths (Oct 7)

~1,200

Killed in the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. ~250 taken hostage.

ICJ Status

Active

Genocide case brought by South Africa. Provisional measures issued Jan 2024.

Unconditional Military Support

The United States provided approximately $17.9 billion in emergency military assistance to Israel during this period, including artillery shells, bombs, and aircraft components. The US vetoed multiple UN Security Council ceasefire resolutions. Secretary of State Blinken traveled to the region seven times. The stated rationale was Israel's right to self-defense. The documented outcome was the destruction of approximately 60% of Gaza's structures, the collapse of its healthcare system, and famine conditions affecting the majority of the population.

UNRWA Funding Cut

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order ending US funding to UNRWA, the UN agency providing food, medical care, and education to Palestinian refugees. UNRWA serves approximately 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees. The stated rationale was Israeli government allegations that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 attacks. An independent UN review found no systemic institutional involvement. The funding cut was implemented regardless. The humanitarian impact is documented as severe and ongoing.

"Riviera of the Middle East"

President Trump proposed that the United States "take over" Gaza and "clean it out," describing a plan to relocate the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza to Egypt and Jordan — countries that declined — and redevelop the territory as a "Riviera of the Middle East." The proposal was made at a White House press conference. Egypt and Jordan both refused. International law prohibits the forcible transfer of a civilian population. The proposal was not withdrawn. It was described by the administration as a serious policy position. Trump's Folly documents it as such.

Ceasefire Phase I — US Role

A ceasefire agreement was reached in January 2025, brokered in part by the outgoing Biden administration and Qatar. Phase I included the release of hostages and a temporary halt to fighting. Phase II — intended to end the war permanently — has not been agreed. The Trump administration has supported continued Israeli military operations in Gaza concurrent with ceasefire negotiations. As of March 2026, the conflict continues. Trump's Folly notes that "ceasefire" and "end of war" are different things, and documents both statuses accordingly.

Al Jazeera Correspondent Mohammed Wishah Killed in Israeli Drone Strike in Gaza

Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Mohammed Wishah was killed by an Israeli drone strike on April 8, 2026, as he was traveling along the coastal road west of Gaza City. Al Jazeera confirmed the killing and held a funeral for Wishah in central Gaza the following day. Democracy Now reported the strike as targeted. The killing of Wishah adds to what the Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom organizations have documented as the deadliest conflict for journalists in recorded history — a figure referenced in Trump's Folly's existing Gaza record. The UN has reported that over 1,000 humanitarian workers have been killed in three years of the Gaza conflict. The US government has not publicly condemned the strike. (Sources: Al Jazeera, Democracy Now)

Hamas Officials Say Group Prepared to Relinquish Police Weapons; Israeli Strikes Kill 780+ Since Ceasefire Began

Two senior Hamas officials told The New York Times on April 22 that the group is prepared to relinquish thousands of automatic rifles and other weapons belonging to its police force and internal security services. The officials said those weapons could be transferred to the Palestinian administrative committee established to govern Gaza under the Board of Peace — the international body led by President Trump to oversee the so-called ceasefire. The offer represents a potential confidence-building measure, though Hamas has not offered to disarm its military wing. Separately, the Associated Press reported that Israeli attacks have killed more than 780 people in Gaza since the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was put in place six months ago. A drone strike on a group of people in a street in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza was reported on April 22; local health authorities confirmed casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The continued killing of Palestinians under the nominal ceasefire framework illustrates the ongoing gap between the administration's characterization of the situation and conditions on the ground. (Sources: New York Times, AP News/Democracy Now)

UN Security Council Ministerial Meeting: Gaza Ceasefire “Increasingly Fragile”; 1.8 Million Still Displaced; Doctors Without Borders Accuses Israel of Systematic Water Denial

At a UN Security Council ministerial-level meeting on April 28, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the Council that Gaza is facing “ongoing and deadly Israeli strikes and dire humanitarian conditions,” with 1.8 million people — nearly the entire population of the territory — living in displacement camps and dependent on humanitarian assistance. Khiari said the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was “increasingly fragile” as Israeli strikes and armed activity by Hamas and other groups continued. In the West Bank, he warned that “violence, including rampant settler attacks, displacement and accelerating settlement activity, is threatening entire communities and further eroding prospects for a political process” toward a two-state solution. Separately, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) issued a statement accusing Israel of “systematically depriving” people in Gaza of water in what the organization characterized as “a campaign of collective punishment” against the Palestinian civilian population. NBC News published a six-month assessment of conditions in Gaza at approximately the same time: deaths and injuries from Israeli attacks have decreased compared to the peak of the conflict, but both continue. Most of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents remain homeless. Reconstruction has been made contingent on Hamas’s full demilitarization under Trump’s 20-point plan, which Hamas has not accepted. (Sources: AP News, NBC News, Doctors Without Borders, Gulf News)

Israel Jails Gaza-Bound Flotilla Activists Seized in International Waters; Lawyers Report Torture and Beatings

Two members of the Global Sumud Flotilla — a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy — appeared before an Israeli court on May 4, 2026, after Israeli naval forces seized them from their vessels in international waters off the coast of Greece the previous week. Spanish national Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian national Thiago Ávila were brought to Israel without charges filed. Ávila told his lawyers he had been “dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice,” leaving visible bruises on his face. Both Ávila and Abukeshek began hunger strikes. The court extended their imprisonment by two days. Israeli authorities accused them of affiliation with a terrorist organization, assisting an enemy during wartime, and providing services to a terrorist organization — charges not formally filed as of the court appearance. The two are among approximately 175 activists who were forced off their ships at gunpoint when Israeli naval forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters. Israeli interception of a civilian humanitarian convoy in international waters and reported mistreatment of foreign nationals in Israeli custody generated condemnation from human rights and press freedom organizations. The US government had not publicly commented on the flotilla seizure or the torture allegations as of May 5, 2026. (Sources: Democracy Now, Al Jazeera, Times of Israel)

US Weighs Redirecting Withheld Palestinian Authority Tax Revenues to Trump’s “Board of Peace” Gaza Reconstruction Fund

The United States is considering asking Israel to redirect some of the Palestinian Authority tax revenues it is currently withholding to President Trump’s “Board of Peace” — the international body established to oversee Gaza’s postwar administration and fund reconstruction under Trump’s plan for the territory — Reuters reported on May 15, citing sources familiar with the matter. Israel collects customs and tax revenues on behalf of the PA but has withheld a portion of those funds as a political pressure mechanism. Under the reported proposal, some of those withheld revenues would be repurposed toward Gaza reconstruction financing rather than returned to the Palestinian Authority. Reuters noted the prospect of Palestinians’ own tax money being redirected toward Trump’s Gaza rebuilding plan “could further sideline the Palestinian Authority.” The PA has not been included in Trump’s Gaza postwar governance framework, which centers on the Board of Peace rather than PA administration. No formal request had been made to Israel as of May 15, and the terms and amounts under consideration had not been publicly disclosed. (Sources: Reuters)

Israel Kills Hamas Qassam Brigades Chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad — Most Senior Hamas Official Killed Since October Ceasefire — Wife and Daughter Also Killed

An Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on the evening of May 15 killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the chief of Hamas’s Qassam Brigades military wing — the most senior Hamas official killed by Israel since the US-brokered ceasefire was announced in October 2025. The Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency confirmed the killing on May 16. Haddad’s daughter and wife were also killed in the strike. The IDF described Haddad as “one of the senior Hamas military commanders who directed the planning and execution of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023.” A senior Israeli official said Haddad had been “defiantly undermining President Trump’s and the Board of Peace efforts to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.” Trump, responding to the killing, called Haddad “the world’s most active terrorist.” Palestinians attended Haddad’s funeral in Gaza City on Saturday, May 16. The killing occurred despite the nominal US-brokered ceasefire framework in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 780 people in Gaza since the nominal ceasefire began, according to AP News. The US government did not condemn the strike. (Sources: Reuters, AP News, CNN, Times of Israel, IDF statement)

Trump’s “Board of Peace” Reports to UN Security Council: $17B Pledged for Gaza Reconstruction but Disbursement Gap “Must Be Closed Urgently” — Board Calls for Hamas Disarmament as Precondition — Hamas Rejects Report — Security Council to Discuss Thursday

President Trump’s “Board of Peace” — the international body he established to oversee Gaza’s postwar administration and reconstruction — reported to the UN Security Council in the week of May 19 that the gap between funding pledges and actual disbursements for the Gaza reconstruction plan “must be closed urgently.” The total amount pledged to the reconstruction fund remained at $17 billion; the report did not disclose how much of that amount had actually been disbursed, nor how large the shortfall was. The Board called on the Security Council to publicly reiterate that Hamas must disarm as a precondition for critical reconstruction work to begin — a position consistent with Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, which has made reconstruction contingent on Hamas’s full demilitarization. Hamas rejected the report in a statement, saying it ignored Israel’s failure to uphold the majority of its own commitments under the ceasefire deal. The UN Security Council was expected to discuss the report on Thursday May 21. The Board’s report highlights a central tension in the Gaza situation: reconstruction funding has been pledged internationally but remains largely undisbursed, while the reconstruction precondition — Hamas disarmament — has not been met and Hamas has not agreed to it. Gaza’s civilian population, nearly all displaced, remains dependent on humanitarian assistance. (Sources: Reuters, AP News)

ICC and ICJ — US Response

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Trump administration responded by imposing sanctions on ICC officials — a significant departure from conventional US engagement with international legal institutions. The ICJ genocide case brought by South Africa remains active. The US has not joined proceedings on either side. The administration has described both courts as illegitimate when their findings are inconvenient. Trump's Folly documents this position and its implications for international legal norms.