Gaza peacekeeping force to include 10,000 troops under US general – report

The US is pushing allies to send a total of 10,000 troops for the new International Stabilization Force for Gaza, which will reportedly be commanded by an American two-star general.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to include 10,000 troops in the United Nations-mandated International Stabilization Force for Gaza, which will be commanded by an American general.

On Thursday, Axios reported that the administration plans to appoint a two-star American general to lead the peacekeeping mission to Gaza, even though the international force will not include American troops in Gaza.

The report cited two US officials and two Israeli officials who said that US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week of the administration’s plans.

“Waltz even said he knows the general personally and stressed he is a very serious guy,” one of the Israeli officials was quoted as saying.

The report did not name the two-star general who is slated to be tapped for the role.

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House hopes to assemble a force of 10,000 soldiers for the Gaza peacekeeping mission.

However, officials told the Journal the administration is aware of the difficulties in putting together the force, with even some countries that expressed interest in participating uneasy about possible confrontations with Hamas.

While the US is hoping to launch its Board of Peace to administer Gaza next month and begin the ISF’s deployment sometime in early 2026, officials cited in Saturday’s report said that the force would not be deployed at full strength initially.

Currently, the officials said, the US is hoping to raise a force of 5,000 troops early next year, with the ISF reaching full strength by year’s end 2026.

Some officials expressed doubt the ISF will ever reach its target size, and will likely never exceed 8,000 soldiers, despite reports that Indonesia is prepared to contribute up to 20,000 troops.

The US military is set to host a conference in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday to hash out the details of the ISF’s mission parameters and the conditions of its operations, with the goal of guaranteeing support from potential contributor states.

The US has reached out to more than 70 countries for troops, with just 19 expressing willingness to do so, one official cited by the Journal report said.

gaza stripISFTrump administration