Israeli government nods to international stabilisation force in Gaza

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing Reuters and an Israeli official quoted by the Times of Israel, reported that Israel’s government has approved legal steps allowing an International Stabilization Force to enter Gaza. The force is tied to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan and is expected to work in areas of Gaza that are not under Israeli military control, in coordination with the Israeli army.

No deployment date was given. According to the report, the force is expected to include about 200 personnel from “friendly countries,” with Uganda and Morocco named as examples. Israel’s security cabinet also decided that Israel will retain the power to approve which countries may contribute forces.

The approval comes as the wider Trump plan calls for a Gaza “Board of Peace,” reconstruction oversight, a technocratic Palestinian transitional administration known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and Israeli withdrawal from the territory. Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the Gaza Board of Peace, welcomed the decision, saying it was part of the agreed framework for stabilising Gaza and enabling transitional governance, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reported that Israel still occupies close to 70 percent of Gaza and that the ISF would be limited to areas outside Israeli control. The outlet also said that although a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed in October, Palestinian deaths have continued, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health as reporting 1,200 killed and 3,888 wounded since the deal took effect. The cabinet decision was reported one day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to travel to Washington, DC.