GAZA PEACEKEEPING PLAN STARTS WITH 10 TO 20 TROOPS

A U.S.-backed Gaza stabilization plan that once envisioned about 20,000 international peacekeepers is starting with only 10 to 20 Moroccan troops training near Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal. The report said the small initial force highlights how difficult it has been to turn the ceasefire framework into a functioning postwar security and reconstruction plan.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the proposed International Stabilization Force was intended to help prevent Hamas from re-emerging as Gaza's dominant armed authority while supporting a transition to new governance arrangements. The current first step, however, is limited to a small Moroccan contingent training near Gaza rather than deploying inside the territory.

The broader plan has stalled over troop commitments, reconstruction funding and the unresolved question of Hamas disarmament, according to the Wall Street Journal. Countries including Albania, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco have shown tentative support, while Indonesia has paused involvement because of security concerns.

Reuters reported separately that the Board of Peace is planning a pilot humanitarian zone in Gaza as part of an effort to revive the U.S. peace plan. Reuters said the zone would be administered by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, with security support from the International Stabilization Force and a new police force.

Hamas has made limited governance concessions but has not accepted the full security terms sought by Israel and the United States. Le Monde reported that Hamas dissolved its emergency government committee in Gaza and proposed transferring authority to a technocratic and apolitical committee, but said Hamas continued to reject disarmament while Israeli forces remained in large parts of the territory.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a logistics hub in Israel is nearing completion, but a mission support site inside Gaza has not been built. The report said reconstruction planning is also behind earlier ambitions, with only partial funding secured for projects that were initially valued in the tens of billions of dollars.

The scale gap between the original plan and the current deployment raises questions about political will and operational risk. A 10-to-20-person training contingent cannot secure Gaza, protect aid corridors or oversee demilitarization by itself. It can, however, serve as a test of whether participating countries are willing to move from pledges to physical deployment near the conflict zone.

The immediate questions are whether additional countries commit troops, whether the pilot humanitarian zone begins operating, and whether Hamas, Israel and international mediators can agree on security arrangements that allow a larger force to enter Gaza. Until those issues are resolved, the stabilization plan remains in an early and limited phase.

Fact-check date: 11 July 2026
Article type: News
Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Le Monde, Times of Israel