The U.S. Central Command will host a conference in Doha on Dec. 16 with partner Arab and Muslim nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, expected to deploy as early as next month.
More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the summit, Reuters cited two U.S. officials as saying on Friday.
The conference will involve sessions on the command structure and other issues, added the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, it remains unclear how the International Stabilization Force will compel Hamas to disarm without fighting the terrorist organization, the report said.
U.S. officials are working out the size, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement of the ISF, according to Reuters.
An American major general whose name has been so-far withheld is being considered for leadership of the ISF, but a decision has not yet been made, the two officials said.
On Thursday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “there is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal. We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace.”
Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to assume health- and construction-related tasks in Gaza, according to Reuters.
The Israel Defense Forces hold some 53% of the Gaza Strip, deployed along the so-called Yellow Line that runs from the Strip’s north to its south.
Under the ceasefire, which went into effect on Oct. 10 following two years of war, after completing its first phase with the return of all living and deceased hostages, talks would begin on the second phase, which is to see Hamas disarmed.
The ISF is supposed to be stationed in the area that the IDF currently holds, with the latter gradually withdrawing in tandem with Hamas’s demilitarization process.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on Nov. 17, authorized a Board of Peace, led by U.S. President Donald Trump, to establish the ISF.
Trump said on Wednesday that he will announce early next year which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace.
During a Knesset speech on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that any international force will likely be unable to carry out its core mission of stripping Hamas of weapons.
This subject is expected to dominate the Trump and Netanyahu meeting scheduled for Dec. 29 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
