Israel to allow international force into Gaza, Israeli official says

Israel will allow a multinational security force to enter Gaza as proposed under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for the enclave, an Israeli official said on July 26, a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington.

Netanyahu’s security Cabinet on July 26 approved the legal framework that would allow the force’s entry to Gaza, the official said. Netanyahu is scheduled to depart for Washington on July 27 and is expected to meet Trump on July 28.

The official said that the mission, called the International Stabilization Force, will include 200 members from “friendly countries such as Uganda and Morocco” deploying in areas that are not under Israeli control. Each contingent requires individual Israeli approval to enter Gaza.

It was unclear when the forces would deploy.

Much of Gaza remains in ruins from two years of full-scale war triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

After a ceasefire deal was struck in October, Trump set out a peace plan for Gaza that provided for a surge in humanitarian aid, civilian administration by Palestinian technocrats, Hamas laying down its arms and Israeli forces withdrawing.

But the plan has stalled and the group of technocrats — known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — has remained outside Gaza.

Israel effectively controls an estimated 64 per cent of Gaza while nearly all of its 2 million people live on a sliver of land on the coast under Hamas control, mainly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings and facing dire conditions.

Hamas has so far refused to disarm and Israel has said it will expand its area of control in Gaza to 70 per cent of the enclave, where it has continued almost daily military strikes.

Trump’s plan included a Board of Peace as an overarching international authority responsible for implementing the peace framework. It would oversee the security force, among other functions.

The board is planning a pilot humanitarian zone for Gazans as a way to kickstart the US president’s stalled plan, a board official said in July.

Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, welcomed the Israeli decision.

“It is a critical part of the agreed framework for stabilizing Gaza, supporting demilitarisation, and enabling the transition to effective Palestinian transitional administration under the @NCAG,” he said on X, referring to the Palestinian civilian administration body. REUTERS