JAKARTA – Indonesia is preparing thousands of troops for a possible deployment to Gaza as part of an international post-war security agreement under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza Plan, the country’s military announced.
After a leadership meeting chaired by President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, Indonesia’s military began preparing to deploy up to 8,000 personnel as part of a multinational “stabilization force” in the Gaza Strip, becoming the first country to do so as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States late last year.
According to an official Indonesian military statement released on Monday, Army Chief of Staff Marli Simanjuntak said the number and schedule remain under review until adjustments are made within the military command.
Officials suggested the force would be comprised primarily of engineer and medical units and would focus on humanitarian operations and recovery rather than combat operations.
General Simanjuntak said training for the soldiers has already begun and will focus on medical and engineering roles in Gaza.
Indonesia joined President Donald Trump’s peace commission announced last month.
The United Nations Security Council has authorized the International Stabilization Force (ISF) to help secure border areas in the Gaza Strip and ensure the demilitarization of the region, including the disarmament of Hamas.
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The board, scheduled to hold its first meeting in Washington on February 19, will also oversee the new technocratic Palestinian government in Gaza and post-war reconstruction.
The timing of the Indonesian military’s deployment and their exact role in Gaza have not yet been finalized.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that an area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis has already been designated for the construction of barracks for thousands of people by the Indonesian military.
Prabowo’s decision to join the Trump administration’s peace commission has been criticized in Indonesia, where there is widespread public anger over the United States’ role in Israel’s air strikes on Gaza.
However, Prabowo insisted that Indonesia, as the world’s largest Islamic state, should contribute to stabilizing Gaza, and said Indonesia’s involvement was aimed at achieving a final two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other Islamic countries, including Turkey and Pakistan, are also considering sending troops, but have made it clear that they will only be peacekeeping forces and will not be involved in disarmament plans for Hamas, which refuses to lay down its weapons while Israel continues to occupy parts of the Gaza Strip. — Agency
