Qatar Conference on Mandate for Gaza International Stabilization Force Reportedly Inconclusive

Latest Developments

Doha Conference Fails to Clarify Force Mandate: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) hosted a conference in the Qatari capital of Doha on December 16 to discuss further phases of President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire in Gaza, including the deployment of an international stabilization force (ISF) to the enclave. However, the conference, which reportedly excluded Turkey at Israel’s request, failed to decide on the mandate of the would-be peacekeeping force, according to European officials. The United States has delivered formal requests to over 70 nations to volunteer troops and supplies for the deployment of the ISF, although none have committed soldiers as of yet.
Tension Over Ceasefire’s Second Phase: The Trump administration is aiming to recruit some 10,000 troops for the multinational ISF, though it has acknowledged that reaching that goal could take most of 2026. Countries currently in talks with Washington have made it clear that they are only willing to deploy forces in Hamas-free areas of the enclave, on the Israeli-controlled side of the “Yellow Line” which separates IDF-held territory from areas still under Hamas control. The United States, however, is continuing to lobby these countries to agree to operate on the Hamas-controlled side of the “Yellow Line” in an effort to prevent a renewal of IDF operations against the Iran-backed terrorist organization.
Trump Administration Examining Strike on Key Hamas Leader: Trump said on December 15 that his administration was “looking into” whether Israel had broken the ceasefire in Gaza when the IDF eliminated top Hamas official Ra’ad Sa’ad in a strike last weekend. An Axios report citing anonymous Trump officials said that Washington had scolded Israel over the strike, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “if you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don’t abide by agreements, be our guest, but we won’t allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza.” Trump, however, denied that there was any rift between himself and the prime minister, saying “Israel and I have gotten along very well” and that his “relationship with Netanyahu is obviously a very good one.”

FDD Expert Response

“Dozens of countries are currently planning for a Hamas-free Gaza down the street from Hamas’s foreign headquarters. It’s a twist from the mind of Lewis Carroll.”— Natalie Ecanow, Senior Research Analyst

“The reported disagreement over inviting Turkey to this meeting encapsulates the whole dilemma surrounding the ISF. The point of this aspect of the Gaza plan is to disarm Hamas and keep technocratic administrators and independent Palestinian enforcers safe. But no nation wants to put its troops in harm’s way. Ankara, meanwhile, is willing to deploy, but for all the wrong reasons. As an imperialist power seeking to assert itself in key parts of the old Ottoman Empire, it wants to be in Gaza. But Turkey’s aggressive ambitions are directed against Israel. Ankara would not disarm Hamas but rather protect the group and ensure its continued influence.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow