International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US officials told Reuters, but it remains unclear how the Palestinian terror group Hamas will be disarmed.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the International Stabilization Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas. They claimed lots of countries have expressed interest in contributing and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement.
The US Central Command will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, the officials said.
More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the conference, which will include sessions on the command structure and other issues related to the Gaza force, they said.
An American two-star general is being considered to lead the ISF, but no decisions have been made, the officials said.
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The goal of deploying the ISF in January is not new, and The Times of Israel has reported for nearly two months that US officials have been talking about that aim. But the timeframe is appearing increasingly unlikely, as even the countries that were thought to be interested in contributing troops, such as Azerbaijan and Indonesia, have yet to formally announce decisions to do so.
Undated photo of US and Qatari Special Operations Forces as they conduct partner training during Invincible Sentry 25. (Courtesy CENTCOM)
Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on October 10, with Hamas releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Palestinians.
“There is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. “We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace.”
Indonesia preparing force that will deploy to Gaza
Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza.
“It is still in the planning and preparation stages,” said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of Indonesian Defense Ministry. “We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed.”
Illustrative: Indonesian soldiers are deployed following days of violent protests against lawmakers’ perks and privileges, in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
An Azerbaijani official told The Times of Israel last week that Baku doesn’t have nearly enough information on the ISF’s mandate in order to make a decision to join the force.
Israel still controls 53% of Gaza, while nearly all the 2 million people in the enclave live in the remaining Hamas-held area. The plan — which needs to be finalized by the so-called Board of Peace — is for the ISF to deploy in the area held by Israel, the US officials said.
Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw “based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization.”
A UN Security Council resolution adopted on November 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF. Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year.
Demilitarizing Gaza
The Security Council authorized the ISF to work alongside newly trained and vetted Palestinian police to stabilize security “by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.”
However, it remains unclear exactly how that would work.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz noted on Thursday that the ISF was authorized by the Security Council to demilitarize Gaza by all means necessary — which means use of force.
“Obviously that’ll be a conversation with each country,” he told Israel’s Channel 12 news, adding that discussions on rules of engagement were under way.
Hamas has said the issue of disarmament has not been discussed with them formally by the mediators — the US, Egypt and Qatar — and the terror group’s stance remains that it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.
Hamas terrorists guard an area where they are searching for the bodies of hostages with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City on November 3, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that the second phase would move toward demilitarization and disarmament.
“Now that raises a question: Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational task force to do the job,” he said. “I told them I welcome it. Are volunteers here? Be my guest,” Netanyahu said.
“We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform … but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that,” he said.
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