US Officials Warn Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan Faces Major Setbacks

Senior American officials are expressing growing concern that President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative could collapse amid mounting challenges to its implementation, according to internal documents obtained by Politico, who reported the findings Tuesday. The plan, intended to formally end hostilities between Israel and Hamas, has reportedly hit multiple logistical and political roadblocks.

The classified materials were discussed last month at a major conference in Israel’s Kiryat Gat, where roughly 400 officials and private-sector participants convened under the U.S. military’s new Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC). The event was organized by Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, Washington’s security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and included input from U.S. security agencies and outside advisers.

A 67-slide presentation reviewed at the meeting included one particularly striking visual—a question mark between “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” of the Trump plan—signaling widespread uncertainty about how to proceed. According to Politico, the slides drew on situation reports from U.S. agencies and documents from the Blair Institute, founded by former British prime minister Tony Blair, who has been advising on Gaza stabilization efforts. One U.S. security official told the outlet the presentation showed “real anxiety in Washington about whether this can actually work.”

Although the administration maintains that it remains committed to the plan, the internal reports make clear that the optimism voiced publicly by Trump and his team contrasts sharply with the realities on the ground. The documents warn that efforts to stabilize Gaza and secure lasting peace between Israel and Hamas are fraught with obstacles.

A central element of the proposal, a multinational stabilization force to monitor a ceasefire and oversee Gaza’s demilitarization, remains mired in ambiguity. Questions persist over the force’s legal authority, its composition, rules of engagement, and oversight. One presentation slide reportedly indicated that the U.S. would take a supervisory role. Israel, however, has resisted withdrawing troops while Hamas remains armed, and Jerusalem continues to oppose the Palestinian Authority’s return to the enclave.

Analysts caution that if the process stalls, Gaza could split into separate zones; one controlled by Israel and another by Hamas. Western diplomats warn that such a stalemate could entrench a long-term division, undermining the plan’s intent to unify the territory under stable governance.

David Schenker, a former assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs under Trump, told Politico the effort is “a full-time job,” noting that the administration’s limited diplomatic resources may not suffice. Another participant in the Kiryat Gat meeting remarked, “Divorced from the peace deal is a plan of how to actually implement this peace deal. Everyone is floating around at 40,000 feet and nobody is talking operations or tactics.”

An additional document reviewed at the session warned that “Hamas is buying time for eventual reassertion of control. Every delay works in their favor,” citing ongoing risks to both humanitarian and security operations in areas outside Hamas’s direct reach.

Some officials also questioned whether Washington’s deep involvement in Gaza is compatible with Trump’s “America First” policy. One participant said, “There’s a bigger question, which is whether it’s advisable or consistent with the president’s America First agenda for the United States to have a long term involvement in Gaza. This is an issue that’s being worked out.”