More than a month has passed since US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza, but key elements of his plan have yet to materialize. The 20-point plan calls for the deployment of a multinational force to stabilize the devastated enclave, but potential participants say key details about the mission have not yet been finalized.
President Trump announced his plan to end the Gaza war on September 29, saying the International Stability Force (ISF) was expected to be deployed “immediately” to train Palestinian police, secure Israel’s border with Egypt, stem the flow of munitions, and enable the further withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The first phase of the ceasefire involved the release of Gaza hostages and Israeli Palestinian prisoners of war and detainees. The second phase of President Trump’s plan calls for the formation of the ISF. U.S. officials have listed several potential contributors, with several countries expressing interest, but no country has formally committed to participating.
Potential participants are seeking clarity and certainty before sending troops to Gaza, which currently faces threats from armed militias, criminal organizations and Israeli attacks with no sign of Hamas disarming. The force will be an unprecedented multinational effort to stabilize territory that Hamas has controlled since 2007.
A Middle East official familiar with the plan told CNN that the countries expected to take part in the mission are in talks with the United States on key issues, including the size of the force, the number of personnel each country will commit, who will lead the decision-making chain and how long the force will be deployed.
Israel has expressed concern about the force’s participation, saying it will not tolerate the involvement of countries it considers hostile, such as Turkey, which played a key role in getting Hamas to agree to a cease-fire.
“These structural issues, such as the lack of transparency around the details of disarmament obligations and the inherent uncertainty surrounding interaction and coordination with the Israel Defense Forces, certainly pose challenges to its launch,” said Lucy Kulzer Ellenbogen, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
Regional officials told CNN that some potential participants have set a deadline for an “empowered” Palestinian Authority to assume full control of the Gaza Strip, insisting that the use of military force is only temporary.
Regional officials added that countries are also seeking an international mandate to formally legitimize the ISF, with some potential participants calling for a UN Security Council resolution. During a visit to Jerusalem last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that a mandate could be achieved through an international agreement.
“We’re working on some language for that right now and we hope it happens…We’re going to need something…because some of these countries, by their own laws, can’t participate in these efforts unless they have some sort of international mission or flag,” Rubio said in Jerusalem.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said in an interview with the BBC this week that the mission was needed to determine whether the ISF would be a “peacekeeping” or “peace enforcement” force, warning that countries did not want “running around Gaza with weapons on patrol” in a “peace enforcement” capacity.
“What is the mission of the security forces inside the Gaza Strip? And we want it to be peacekeeping. If it’s peace enforcement, I don’t think anyone wants to touch that,” he warned.
Other issues include how heavily armed the army will be, how it will interact with Israeli forces, and whether it will be prepared to intervene in the event of internal conflict in the enclave.
U.S. officials have named several countries as potential participants, including Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. He said Pakistan could also be part of the force.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would decide which international forces would be allowed to invade Gaza after the war.
At a press conference in Israel last week, Vance addressed questions about Turkey’s involvement in Gaza, saying foreign troops stationed in Gaza require Israel’s explicit consent.
“What kind of forces are on the ground in Israel and Gaza will be an issue that the Israeli people will have to agree on,” he said, praising Turkey’s “very constructive” role in facilitating the ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel is committed to the plan and welcomes a “responsible and strong ISF” as “a key element in achieving the goals of all those who want to bring about a new era of stability in the Strip.”
