Postwar Gaza Planning: An Initial Checklist

Postwar planning for Gaza needs to start now. Prior to October 7, nobody in Israel was planning for this war. Thus, planning now for what happens if Hamas is defeated may be way behind. It will take many weeks to marshal the necessary resources, equipment, people, and authorizations to meet the basic requirements of Gaza’s residents. Israelis will have their own requirements to ensure that Hamas and other terrorist groups do not again launch terrorist attacks against Israel. Poor planning and scant resources are now everyone’s enemy.

This checklist is far from an actual plan. Actual plans could run hundreds of pages long with a team of authors. This checklist is intended to give a sense of the scale of what will be required for postwar Gaza planning.

This paper assumes an Israeli ground victory over Hamas in which areas within Gaza, in succession, are cleared of Hamas fighters. The succession of clearing operations presents an additional challenge, because humanitarian assistance, postwar efforts, and military operations may be going on in adjacent districts. Israel cannot afford to wait until all fighting in Gaza ceases before undertaking humanitarian and other efforts in areas that are relatively secure.

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