Indonesia Prepares to Deploy First Foreign Troops to Gaza

Indonesia is preparing to become the first country to send foreign troops into Gaza as part of an International Stabilization Force (ISF). The deployment would take place during the Trump administration’s Phase II of the ceasefire and could begin within weeks, though no formal arrival date has been set.

The move would mark the first concrete troop commitment to the ISF after months in which several countries were mentioned as potential contributors but none moved beyond general expressions of readiness. Indonesia had previously been named alongside the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Italy, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey.

Indonesian soldiers are expected to play a limited stabilization and supervision role rather than engage in combat.Neither the ISF as a whole nor the Indonesian contingent is expected to confront Hamas terrorists directly or attempt to disarm them. Instead, the force is expected to supervise existing ceasefire lines and potentially assist with border-related responsibilities.

The troops could be deployed in southern Gaza, particularly in the Khan Yunis and Rafah areas. The force is expected to be based near Rafah, where offices and living quarters would be constructed in the coming weeks to support the deployment.

Indonesian officials, meanwhile, have described the plans as tentative and dependent on further coordination. Bloomberg reported that Indonesia’s army is preparing up to 8,000 troops for a possible peacekeeping mission, with troop numbers and timing subject to approval through the military chain of command. The statement followed a joint military and police leadership meeting with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta and said any deployment would focus primarily on engineering and medical units.

Indonesia’s defense minister said in November that the country had trained up to 20,000 troops for health- and construction-related missions. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Prabowo said Indonesia was prepared to deploy “20,000 or even more” peacekeeping troops to help secure peace in Gaza or elsewhere.

The potential deployment is closely tied to diplomatic developments in Washington. Prabowo has been invited to attend a February 19 meeting in Washington connected to President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative, though an Indonesian official said he had not yet decided whether he would make the trip. 

Operational questions remain unresolved. One key issue is the rules of engagement that would govern interactions between Hamas and the Indonesian contingent should contact occur. There is also uncertainty over how many additional countries, if any, will follow Indonesia’s lead and contribute forces to the ISF.

Another unresolved question concerns the force’s durability. If Hamas has not begun a serious disarmament process by early May, roughly corresponding with the Trump administration’s 100-day benchmark, it remains unclear whether the ISF would continue operating in Gaza or whether Israel would resume major ground operations.