Push for swift UN resolution on Gaza peace mission
ASWAN
Cairo has expressed the urgent need for an U.N. Security Council resolution to authorize the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Gaza, as progress on the U.S.-backed peace plan continues to face mounting hurdles and slowdowns.
Speaking to the UAE-based news outlet the National, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty outlined the proposed framework of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) and its accompanying Board of Peace, which would oversee the flow of international aid and reconstruction funds.
The U.S.-brokered peace plan, introduced by President Donald Trump, outlines successive stages after the Oct. 10 ceasefire, including Hamas’ disarmament and the deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force.
Progress has slowed amid delays in the return of hostage remains, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel on Oct. 21 came amid White House concerns that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may end the truce and resume military operations in Gaza.
Abdelatty said Egypt is ready to participate in all formats of the proposed operation but emphasized that Gaza must remain under Palestinian administration.
The Egyptian top diplomat said that a Security Council resolution is crucial to “endorse this plan and give legitimacy” to the stabilization force.
“We need first to have a Security Council resolution as soon as possible to endorse this plan and also to give legitimacy for this ISF, the International Stabilisation Force, and to identify its own mandate and its own mission,” Abdelatty said.
“This is very, very important,” he emphasised, adding that Egypt is “standing ready to participate in all formats but within specific parameters” to be detailed in the Security Council resolution through a “clear-cut mandate”
“The mission should be peacekeeping, not peace-enforcing,” Abdelatty said, noting that the force — along with the Board of Peace, which Trump is expected to lead alongside figures like former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair — will assist with basic services, police training and capacity building in Gaza.
Abdelatty added that the Board of Peace will also coordinate with Israel and monitor the distribution of donor funds for humanitarian relief and reconstruction.
Sources cited by The National said Cairo is expected to lead a four-nation stabilization force composed of around 4,000 troops from Egypt, Türkiye Azerbaijan and Indonesia. The unit will reportedly be lightly armed, relying on small weapons and armored vehicles and will be deployed in areas vacated by Israeli forces under the first phase of the plan.
Turkish defense sources earlier confirmed that Türkiye is expected to contribute troops to the force.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last week said that Ankara is ready to assume a de facto guarantor role if a two-state solution is realized after a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. He noted that an “early task force” had already been formed to manage operational issues such as hostage and body exchanges during the truce period.
Fidan added that talks continue on three institutional mechanisms outlined in Trump’s ceasefire proposal — a task force, a peace council and a stabilization force — though their structures and mandates are yet to be finalized.
