DUBAI, October 20. /TASS/. The Egypt-led stabilization force in the Gaza Strip will be made up of at least 4,000 troops, the Emirati newspaper The National reported, citing sources.
According to the report, the contingent will also include troops from Azerbaijan, Turkey and Indonesia. However, these countries have not yet officially confirmed their participation.
The paper’s sources say that the stabilization force "will not have heavy weapons, and will rely mainly on self-defense firearms and armoured vehicles." Its mandate would be similar to that of a peacekeeping contingent. The troops will be deployed to the areas from which Israel has withdrawn its forces in accordance with phase one of US President Donald Trump's peace plan. The contingent will later expand its area of deployment when Israel's military enacts further withdrawals. Still, the sources note that the stabilization force "will not enter the proposed Israel-held security strip that will run on the Gaza side of the border," the newspaper points out.
The international contingent is supposed to be responsible for the establishment of field hospitals and the restoration of critical infrastructure, and will also oversee search and rescue operations to retrieve bodies from under the rubble together with 3,000 local volunteers.
Peace efforts
According to the newspaper’s sources, the deployment of international troops is part of the second phase of Trump’s peace plan.
The British newspaper The Guardian wrote earlier that "the US is pressing for the force to have a UN mandate without being a fully fledged UN peacekeeping force and will operate with the kind of powers given to international troops operating in Haiti to combat armed gangs."
US President Donald Trump announced on October 9 that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on the first phase of a peace plan, which envisaged the liberation of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed-upon line. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced in the early hours of October 10 that the government had approved a deal to release all hostages. The ceasefire agreement took effect at 9:00 a.m. GMT on October 10. However, both parties have since accused each other of ceasefire violations.