The proposed deployment of an international force in Gaza, seen as a crucial feature of President Donald Trump’s plan to bring peace to the enclave, is struggling to get off the ground as countries considered likely to contribute soldiers have grown wary.
Concerns are mounting in foreign capitals over whether soldiers could be put in a position where they may be required to use force against Palestinians, with several countries backpedaling on troop offers.
Indonesia, which had announced it would send as many as 20,000 peacekeeping troops, is now looking at providing a much smaller contingent, according to officials in Jakarta, who like others interviewed in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing discussions.
Azerbaijan, which had also been expected to send troops, has also reassessed, officials with knowledge of discussions said. Meanwhile, no Arab countries have committed to contributing soldiers.
“A month ago, things were in a better place,” said one regional official with knowledge of the discussions.
The International Stabilization Force, or ISF, is a major component of the Trump plan, which was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution on Nov. 17. The resolution gave the force the mandate to “demilitarize” the Gaza Strip, secure its borders and protect civilians and aid operations.
Trump administration officials have been working to drum up troop commitments. But even for countries that are keen to win favor with the U.S. administration, many uncertainties remain, including the thorny question of how the force would go about securing weapons from Hamas, which has sent mixed signals about its willingness to disarm. The task could be especially challenging because Israel and Hamas are still clashing and Israel continues to carry out airstrikes, despite the October ceasefire agreement.
“They want the international stabilizing force to come into Gaza and restore, quote unquote, law and order and disarm any resistance,” a senior official in Indonesia’s ministry of foreign affairs said. “So that’s the problem. Nobody wants to do that.”
The plan describes the ISF as a “long-term internal security solution” for Gaza to be deployed “immediately.” But rules of engagement and the scope of the mandate are still being worked out.
One person familiar with U.S. planning said the aim is for the ISF to comprise three brigades, or perhaps up to 15,000 troops. Another person said the ISF would have up to 20,000.
Once countries have agreed to participate, arranging logistics and training troops is anticipated to take at least several weeks. The goal is for them to deploy in “early 2026,” according to a U.S. official, adding that discussions over which countries will be involved is “a fluid process.”
“Commitments are being considered. No one is going to send troops from their country without understanding the specifics of the mission,” the official said.
Second thoughts and cold feet
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said in September that Jakarta was ready to send as many as 20,000 peacekeepers. But that number refers to Indonesia’s entire peacekeeping capacity and “should not be interpreted as a specific commitment to Gaza only,” a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Defense Ministry, Col. Rico Sirait, said in a statement Monday. Yvonne Mewangkang, a spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, similarly said that 20,000 “refers to Indonesia’s overall peacekeeping readiness.”
Representatives of Prabowo’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The Indonesian military is preparing to send closer to 1,200 troops as an initial deployment, the Foreign Affairs Ministry official said, adding that it would take about six months for them to be in position. Some officers are “really hesitant” to take on the mission because they fear it will involve armed contact with Palestinians, the official said.
Middle East governments had “rebuked” Indonesia for going out ahead of them in committing peacekeepers, said the official, who was present at some of the meetings. Indonesian officials now say their personnel will be focused on “health and construction” rather than playing a combat roles.
Gen. Agus Subiyanto, who commands the Indonesian military, said this week that the contingent will consist of three brigades led by a three-star general and supported by air and naval assets, but he stopped short of giving numbers. “We will first send a reconnaissance team to assess the situation and determine the best deployment location,” he said.
Other countries that had expressed a willingness to send soldiers include Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Italy.
Azerbaijan will only send troops if there is a complete halt to fighting, Reuters reported this month, citing a Foreign Ministry source. The country’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment, and its U.N. mission declined interview requests. Pakistani officials also declined to comment.
A senior Italian government official said Italy is “assessing the most effective ways to contribute to the force” and is looking to help define its mandate and rules of engagement. Italy is prepared to expand training of Palestinian police and is considering demining operations.
So far, the ISF also lacks crucial buy-in from countries in the Middle East. Gulf countries that had been expected to participate have “cold feet,” the regional official said.
Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said earlier this month that his government does not see a “clear framework” for the force. “The ambiguity of this whole thing is not settling very well here in Abu Dhabi,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati political scientist, who described a “180” in the UAE’s willingness to send troops over the past year.
In addition to the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar had initially been reported to be among those ready to send troops. But now, no Gulf country would be willing to put troops in Gaza, though some may be willing to help coordinate the ISF mission from the outside, a diplomat familiar with the situation said.
Questions over demilitarization
The establishment of an international force is part of the second phase of Trump’s plan, which also calls for a “Board of Peace” — headed by Trump — to oversee Gaza for two years, a committee of Palestinian technocrats to deal with day-to-day administration of the enclave, further Israeli withdrawal and the demilitarization of Hamas.
“We thought, with the Security Council resolution, within 48 to 72 hours, the Board of Peace would be announced,” another person familiar with efforts to put the plan in motion said. “But nothing, not even informally.”
No other members of the Board of Peace have been named, although Trump said last week “it will have the heads of major countries, I think all of the major countries.”
A second U.S. official said the plan is to have both the Board of Peace and the ISF launched in the coming weeks, but it could be longer. This official acknowledged that significant questions remain concerning the demilitarization of Gaza. The expectation is that the ISF would coordinate with a Palestinian police force, which is to be set up under the plan.
Hamas agreed verbally to a mechanism for disarmament during ceasefire negotiations last month, Khaled Okasha, an Egyptian consultant who advised Palestinian and Egyptian delegations, told The Washington Post at the time. But the militant group appears to have hardened its stance since then, according to a former Egyptian official familiar with the talks. One possibility is that Hamas would turn over its heavy weapons but retain light arms.
Hamas officials declined to comment.
“The whole world knows that disarmament takes years,” said Hesham Youssef, a former Egyptian diplomat. He added that disarmament can only proceed if there are efforts at the same time to address questions over Gaza’s political future.
While Egypt has played a central role in advancing Trump’s peace plan, Youssef said his county is unlikely to participate in the international force as long as Israel is conducting military operations in Gaza. “What will happen if Israel kills a number of soldiers from the force, whether from Egypt or elsewhere? Hell will break loose,” he said.
Questions over where to deploy
Important questions remain about where in Gaza the international force would deploy and, in particular, whether the soldiers would stay in areas under Israeli control or enter those where Hamas remains active. Under the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli military pulled back, but it continues to hold slightly more than half the enclave.
An internal Indonesian military briefing paper distributed in mid-October and obtained by The Post shows the deployment of soldiers in areas beyond Israeli control are being considered.
Also unaddressed is the question of whether the international force would be expected to guard civilian “safe” areas that are being planned in the portion of Gaza remaining under Israeli military control.
Few details have been disclosed about these proposed civilian areas. An Israeli security official said they would be towns with government offices, bakeries and workplaces are meant to serve as “pilot sites” that encourage Palestinians to relocate and draw international involvement in rebuilding efforts. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a principal author of much of Trump’s first-term Middle East policy, has emerged as the main sponsor of that initiative, according to a person familiar with the planning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed skepticism over the feasibility of an international force. “We said, ‘Go ahead, try,’” Netanyahu said of discussions with Washington in an interview last week with the Israeli social media outlet Abu Ali Express. “They think international forces from different countries might [disarm Hamas]. Fine, you can try.”
Israel is working on the assumption that it will eventually have to demilitarize Hamas itself because no one else will be willing, said Ofer Guterman, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies.
“All indicators show that indeed no countries are willing to take on this responsibility, and that understanding is sinking in both in Israel and in the U.S.,” he said. “Bottom line: It’s unlikely that the ISF, if it’s established at all, will lead to Gaza’s demilitarization.”
Stefano Pitrelli, Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Hazem Balousha and Lior Soroka contributed to this report.
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