Israel’s approval of limited Gaza force a calculated manoeuvre, experts say

Israel's security cabinet has greenlit a constrained pilot programme permitting foreign security personnel to operate within a restricted zone of Gaza, according to Israeli media reports. The deployment, termed the International Stabilization Force and framed within US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace initiative, will comprise approximately 200 personnel from nations including Morocco and Uganda, stationed in a designated test area in southern Rafah.

While international officials have expressed cautious welcome for the arrangement, regional analysts view it as a calculated diplomatic manoeuvre with limited substantive impact. They argue the move functions primarily to manage US pressure rather than represent meaningful progress toward conflict resolution, particularly as the broader US-backed peace process has stalled and Israeli military operations persist.

According to Gaza-based political analyst Wissam Afifa, the initiative allows Israeli leadership to present a constrained alternative to international demands for broader withdrawal. The original plan reportedly envisioned 500 Moroccan troops; the reduction to 200 suggests Israel's political-security establishment intends to implement deployment in smaller, tightly controlled phases.

The force will operate under full coordination with the Israeli military. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir cast the sole dissenting cabinet vote, contending that Hamas has not fulfilled disarmament commitments and proposing alternative approaches to Gaza's governance.

Israeli authorities maintain that the military will retain control of the "Yellow Line," a unilaterally established boundary encompassing approximately 70 percent of Gaza under Israeli authority, with no withdrawal contingent upon complete Hamas disarmament. This framework contrasts with the UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which envisioned international force deployment alongside a transitional Palestinian administration. Hamas recently announced dissolution of its Gaza government in favour of a new Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.