{"id":299317,"date":"2026-02-19T14:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/299317\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T14:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:31:12","slug":"trump-officials-plan-to-build-5000-person-military-base-in-gaza-files-show-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/299317\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files show | Trump administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration<\/a> is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza<\/a>, sprawling more than 350 acres, according to Board of Peace contracting records reviewed by the Guardian.<\/p>\n

The site is envisioned as a military operating base for a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), planned as a multinational military force composed of pledged troops. The ISF is part of the newly created Board of Peace which is meant to govern Gaza. The Board of Peace<\/a> is chaired by Donald Trump<\/a> and led in part by his son-in-law Jared Kushner.<\/p>\n

The plans reviewed by the Guardian call for the phased construction of a military outpost that will eventually have a footprint of 1,400 metres by 1,100 metres, ringed by 26 trailer-mounted armored watch towers, a small arms range, bunkers, and a warehouse for military equipment for operations. The entire base will be encircled with barbed wire.<\/p>\n

The fortification is planned for an arid stretch of flatlands in southern Gaza<\/a> strewn with saltbush and white broom shrubs, and littered with twisted metal from years of Israeli bombardment. The Guardian has reviewed video of the area. A source close to the planning tells the Guardian that a small group of bidders \u2013 international construction companies with experience in war zones \u2013 have already been shown the area in a site visit.<\/p>\n

The Indonesian government has reportedly<\/a> offered to send up to 8,000 troops. Indonesia\u2019s president<\/a> was one of four south-east Asian leaders scheduled to attend an inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington DC on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The UN security council authorized the Board of Peace to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza<\/a>. The ISF, according to the UN, will be tasked with securing Gaza\u2019s border and maintaining peace within the area. It\u2019s also supposed to protect civilians, and train and support \u201cvetted Palestinian police forces<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is unclear what the ISF\u2019s rules of engagement would be if there is combat, renewed bombing by Israel<\/a>, or attacks by Hamas. Nor is it clear what role the ISF is meant to play in disarming Hamas, an Israeli condition to proceed with Gaza\u2019s reconstruction.<\/p>\n

While more than 20 countries have signed up as members of the Board of Peace, much of the world has stayed away<\/a>. Although it was set up with the UN\u2019s approval, the organization\u2019s charter appears to grant Trump permanent leadership and control.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Board of Peace is a kind of legal fiction, nominally with its own international legal personality separate from both the UN and the United States, but in reality it\u2019s just an empty shell for the United States to use as it sees fit,\u201d said Adil Haque, a professor of law at Rutgers University.<\/p>\n

Experts say<\/a> the funding and governance structures are murky, and several contractors have told the Guardian that conversations with US officials are often conducted on Signal rather than over government email.<\/p>\n

The military base contracting document was issued by the Board of Peace, according to a person familiar with the process, and prepared with the help of US contracting officials.<\/p>\n

The plans say there is to be a network of bunkers each 6 metres by 4 metres and 2.5 metres tall, with elaborate ventilation systems where soldiers can go for protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Contractor,\u201d says the document, \u201cshall conduct a geophysical survey of the site to identify any subterranean voids, tunnels, or large cavities per phase.\u201d This provision is likely referencing the large network of tunnels Hamas has built in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One section of the document describes a \u201cHuman Remains Protocol\u201d. \u201cIf suspected human remains or cultural artifacts are discovered, all work in the immediate area must cease immediately, the area must be secured, and the Contracting Officer must be notified immediately for direction,\u201d it says. The bodies of about 10,000 Palestinians are believed to be buried under the rubble in Gaza, according to Gaza\u2019s civil defense agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is unclear who owns the land where the military compound is set to be built, but much of the south Gaza area is currently under Israeli control<\/a>. The UN estimates <\/a>that at least 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced during the war.<\/p>\n

Diana Buttu, a Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and former peace negotiator, called building a military base on Palestinian land without the government\u2019s approval an act of occupation. \u201cWhose permission did they get to build that military base?\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials from US Central Command referred all questions about the military base to the Board of Peace.<\/p>\n

A Trump administration<\/a> official declined to discuss the military base contract: \u201cAs the President has said, no US boots will be on the ground. We\u2019re not going to discuss leaked documents.\u201d<\/p>\n

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