JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has authorized the United States to deploy an initial multinational force of approximately 250 foreign troops into Gaza, security officials confirmed to the Israeli news site Walla on Monday, November 9, in reporting carried by The Jerusalem Post. Foreign military officers accompanied by US troops have been spotted near the Gaza Strip border over the past two weeks, as preparations continue for the deployment of a multinational force deeper into the enclave. The authorization is the most concrete step yet toward fielding the International Stabilization Force (ISF), the foreign force at the centre of US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, which has been discussed for more than a year without troops actually entering Gaza in that role.

Source: Jerusalem Post via Walla, Nov 9 2026

Six countries have so far expressed willingness to participate in the force, according to Walla: Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Uganda and Albania. Their offers are not all the same kind. Kazakhstan has offered medical and logistical assistance, while Kosovo has proposed supporting security and policing operations. The initial force of about 250 is expected, in the first phase, to secure the area surrounding a planned new city in Rafah (see below) rather than to police the whole Strip — a deliberately small footprint for a mission whose eventual size has never been publicly fixed.

Source: Jerusalem Post via Walla, Nov 9 2026

The force Israel has now authorized in an initial 250-strong form is the same International Stabilization Force Washington has been building a legal mandate for at the United Nations, under the Board of Peace structure. Read: US Draft UN Plan for a Gaza Stabilization Force Under a Board of Peace

The Turkey row that is slowing the force down

One of the factors delaying the formation of the multinational force is pressure from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Washington to allow Turkey to participate in operations in Gaza, as part of Ankara's efforts to expand its regional influence, according to Walla. Officials in Jerusalem and the Israeli defence establishment strongly oppose Turkish involvement, citing Ankara's policies toward Israel, Erdogan's statements, and Turkey's hosting of what Israel describes as Hamas's headquarters. According to Israeli assessments reported by Walla, Hamas's headquarters in Turkey directed an attack near Hebron more than two weeks ago in which two IDF soldiers were killed — an Israeli claim that Turkey and Hamas have not confirmed and that Awaaz Punjab reports here as an attributed assessment, not as established fact.

Source: Jerusalem Post via Walla, Nov 9 2026

Israeli defence officials are also concerned about Washington's future policies toward Israel and about the speed at which the multinational force could enter Gaza, Walla reported — concerns sharpened by fears that senior US administration officials could adopt a more hostile stance toward Israel following Republican losses in the US midterm elections. One security official put the unease bluntly: 'It is not unrealistic that the Gaza Division and Southern Command could wake up one day and discover that there is a foreign multinational force with more soldiers than the number of troops in the Gaza Division. Israel needs to be prepared for several diplomatic and security scenarios with implications on the ground.'

Source: Security official quoted by Walla, via Jerusalem Post, Nov 9 2026

A US base grows by the border, and a new city is planned in Rafah

Meanwhile, the US military continues to transfer vehicles and equipment to a special base near the Gaza border, within the area of responsibility of the IDF Gaza Division's Southern Brigade, according to Walla. The equipment includes trucks, armored vehicles designed to transport troops across difficult terrain, medical evacuation vehicles, and armored vehicles equipped with machine guns. The facility was originally an IDF base before being handed over to the US; guard towers have since been erected, surveillance and lighting systems installed, and the perimeter fence renovated, and armed US troops now secure the base around the clock.

Source: Jerusalem Post via Walla, Nov 9 2026

At the same time, preparations are advancing for the construction of a planned new city on the ruins of part of Rafah — described in the reporting as a 'terror-free Emirati city' — a project approved by the Israeli government. Engineering work is underway at the site ahead of the planned relocation of tens of thousands of Palestinians, who would undergo strict security screening, including approval from Israeli authorities. Security officials said only a limited number of Palestinians would initially be admitted to the compound following security screening, with the project operating as a pilot program, and no timetable has been set for its implementation. The initial multinational force is expected to secure the area surrounding the new city. The preparations come as Israel's political leadership continues to oppose reconstruction in Gaza without first disarming Hamas and transferring control of the enclave to a third party.

Source: Jerusalem Post via Walla, Nov 9 2026

What happens next

No date has been announced for the first foreign troops to cross into Gaza, and the mission's command arrangements, rules of engagement and final size all remain unpublished. The immediate questions are whether Washington accepts Jerusalem's veto on Turkish participation, whether the six willing countries convert their offers into signed contingents, and how the force's first task — securing the pilot compound outside Rafah — interacts with the far larger unresolved issues around it: the disarmament of Hamas, the transfer of control of the enclave to a third party, and a Gaza population still largely displaced after Sunday's storm flooding destroyed tents and shelters across the Strip. For the Gulf and the wider region, a foreign force inside Gaza under US direction would be the first of its kind in the territory's modern history — which is precisely why even a first step of 250 soldiers is being watched so closely in Jerusalem, Ankara and Washington alike.