The administration of President Donald Trump notified Congress it is providing more than $206 million to fund a proposed peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip. The funding, disclosed in State Department letters dated July 30 and recently seen by Reuters, represents the first significant U.S. financial commitment to the International Stabilization Force (ISF). The ISF is a central component of a U.S.-led plan to manage security and reconstruction in the enclave following two years of conflict.
The proposed peacekeeping force is intended to secure areas of Gaza as Israeli forces withdraw, oversee the demilitarization of the territory, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. According to the State Department notifications, $200 million will be allocated for the force's equipment, infrastructure, vehicles, and general operational costs. An additional $6 million is designated to repurpose nine armored personnel carriers, originally intended for Nepal, to support the mission.
The funding comes as the broader peace roadmap faces diplomatic obstacles. While five nations—Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania—have committed troops to the ISF, both Israel and Hamas have resisted specific conditions of the agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not withdraw until Hamas is completely disarmed, while Hamas officials have maintained that their implementation of the roadmap depends on Israel halting attacks and completing its withdrawal first.
For the international community, the scale of the commitment involves at least seven nations providing either troops or police training. While the $206 million is the first concrete U.S. expenditure, the total cost for the operation has not been disclosed by the administration. The repurposing of armored vehicles specifically affects Albania and Kosovo, which are designated as the initial recipients of the equipment. Residents in Gaza would notice the presence of the ISF and the beginning of reconstruction projects once a base is established, though the exact timing of troop deployment remains unclear due to ongoing negotiations.
The funding sets a precedent for how the U.S. Board of Peace intends to manage the transition from military conflict to civil administration in Gaza. It establishes the ISF as the primary body for training new Palestinian police forces. However, the knock-on effects for regional stability depend on whether the funding can bridge the gap between the competing demands of Israel and Hamas. What happens next depends on further negotiations; Trump envoy Jared Kushner met with Hamas and Israeli leaders in mid-August without reaching a breakthrough, and Israel is currently preparing for a national election scheduled for October.