Israel is calling for an international peacekeeping force to secure Gaza and help with the humanitarian aid delivery, according to several reports.
The multinational military force would be composed of troops from three Arab countries, possibly Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and a third with a peace treaty with Israel, The Times of Israel reported, citing Hebrew media outlets in Israel.
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly touted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he achieved significant progress on the plan during his trip to Washington this week.
Gallant asked for American material and political backing for the initiative during meetings with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Tony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan — but made no requests for US troops on the ground, Axios reported.
The peacekeeping force would have armed Arab troops provide security for humanitarian aid convoys to prevent them from being looted by desperate Gazans or having supplies fall into Hamas terrorists’ hands.
It would also help secure a temporary pier the United States is set to build to receive aid shipments in Gaza, which the UN reported is on the brink of famine.
“Such a move will build a governing body in the enclave that is not Hamas and will address Israel’s growing problem with the U.S. when it comes to the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” a senior Israeli official told Axios.
American support for the initiative is reportedly contingent on Israel implementing a post-war plan to help Gaza rebuild, such as Gallant’s “Day After” plan presented three months ago.
Under that proposal, Israel would maintain military operations in Gaza, but there would be no civilian presence; meanwhile, Palestinians who are not hostile toward the Jewish state would govern the territory.
Whether any Arab nations actually would sign on to the peacekeeping force is unclear. They have insisted they wouldn’t help manage the ravaged territory after the war, unless it’s part of a plan to establish a future Palestinian state — a move the Netanyahu government has rebuffed, The Times of Israel reported.
Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, suggested the push for peacekeeping is a sign of President Biden and Netanyahu coming together amid the pair’s publicly deteriorating relationship.
“It does seem like after a few weeks the two leaders are setting aside their differences or perhaps allowing cooler heads to prevail,” Schanzer told The Post.
“I think the Israel proposal to establish a peacekeeping force…is a nod to the president’s broader vision for regional normalization and integration.”
Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas was sparked by the terrorist group’s murderous Oct. 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people in the Jewish state and saw 253 kidnapped into Gaza. At least 32,700 Gazans have been killed amid Israel’s ongoing bombardment of the territory, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
In other news:
- Protests erupted nationwide across Israel Saturday, with anti-government demonstrators calling for early elections and Netanyahu’s resignation, The Times of Israel reported. Twenty families of hostages also pushed for the prime minister’s ouster over failing to secure their loved ones’ release.
- An explosion in southern Lebanon injured three United Nations observers and a translator on patrol in southern Lebanon Saturday, the organization said. Two security sources told Reuters Israel was behind the strike outside the border town of Rmeish, although the Israel Foreign Ministry said the IDF wasn’t responsible.
- Former hostage Hagar Brodutch shared horrifying details of her capture by Hamas with The Daily Mail. The terrorists paraded her along with three children and a 3-year-old neighbor as trophies in the street and used an ambulance to transport the hostages in the territory.
