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Force shrinks, logistics first
The International Stabilization Force (ISF) for postwar Gaza has stalled as a planned deployment of 20,000 peacekeepers has been reduced to an initial contingent of just 10 to 20 personnel, according to a report cited by Palestine Chronicle and Euronews.
Palestine Chronicle says the first Moroccan contingent, originally expected to deploy in June, has been delayed and is now expected to arrive within the coming months, with troops first stationed at a newly built logistics hub near the Kerem Shalom crossing for training before limited reconnaissance and security missions inside the Strip.
Euronews reports that Moroccan troops were scheduled to arrive in June but their deployment was postponed, and that they would undergo training near the border of the sector inside Israel before beginning limited operations inside Gaza.
The plan’s early-stage design is described in the sources as a phased approach, with the initial phase involving a ceasefire and a division of control of the sector between Israel and Hamas, while the second phase calls for disarming Hamas and transferring power to a technocratic Palestinian council.
Israeli reservations, Hamas conditions
Al-Jazeera Net frames the deployment problem as Israeli reservations, quoting the Wall Street Journal that the World Peace Council is having difficulty deploying about 20 members of the International Stabilization Force in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli reservations.
In the same account, Dr. Muhannad Mustafa attributes Israel’s stance to a desire to derail any attempt to move from a military to a political status and to an intention to wage a new war and displace the residents of the Gaza Strip.
Palestine Chronicle describes Hamas as urging mediators to stop an Israeli bid for Gaza’s “administrative vacuum,” while also saying Hamas announced it would dissolve the emergency committee administering Gaza and transfer civilian governance to the proposed National Committee.
Palestine Chronicle adds that Hamas stopped short of committing to disarm its military wing, leaving a principal condition unresolved, and it quotes Kalpona Akter in the broader Gaza governance context as calling the situation “corporate murder,” while the sources also note that Hamas readiness to transfer power is not paired with relinquishing weapons.
Egypt joins, site identified
The U.S. State Department announcement of Egypt’s participation in the International Stabilization Force is described by الشرق الأوسط as raising questions about the extent of Egyptian troop involvement, while the article says the State Department stressed that “the Egyptian contribution is highly important coming from a neighboring country to the Strip.”
The same source says the World Peace Council meeting in Washington in February heard from Jasper Gevers that five countries have pledged to send forces—Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania—while Jordan and Egypt pledged to train Palestinian police.
MISBAR reports that it identified a logistics support facility named LSA Endurance near Kerem Shalom, concluding from official photos and satellite imagery that the site likely lies near Route 232 leading to the Kerem Shalom crossing.
MISBAR further says that on June 30 the Peace Council’s account on X published images it claimed document the arrival of tactical vehicles at the Logistics Support Area: Endurance, and it describes the vehicles as HMMWV models, while the article also provides the approximate coordinates 31.20807331, 34.2849693 and a measured area of about 45,000 square meters.
