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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli security cabinet okays limited International Stabilization Force entry into Gaza for pilot

2026-07-27

[IsraelTimes] The Israeli security cabinet has voted to approve the limited entry of the International Stabilization Force under the Board of Peace-led plan for Gaza, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against the proposal, while Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar voted in favor, the official says, without elaborating on the exact proposal or whether there was any timeline for deploying the fledgling force.

ISF troops would first deploy along the borders of a pilot humanitarian zone in Gaza being planned by the Board of Peace.

Shortly before the vote took place, the Israeli official and a Board of Peace official told The Times of Israel that the cabinet would vote on measures aimed at advancing elements of the humanitarian pilot project proposed by the US-backed Board of Peace.

The Board of Peace has been promoting the plan for several months. It envisions the establishment of a pilot humanitarian zone in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, from which Israeli troops would withdraw and be replaced by personnel from a not-yet-deployed International Stabilization Force. The arrangement would allow an initial group of vetted Gazans to relocate from Hamas-controlled territory. Hamas has so far refused to disarm as envisioned under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point framework for Gaza, and the Board has been struggling to get Israeli approval on certain key components of the plan.

Last week, Nickolay Mladenov, Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza, and Aryeh Lightstone, special advisor to the Board, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to brief him on plans for the pilot project, and received a “positive” response from the premier, the Board official says.

Much of what was expected to be discussed in today’s cabinet meeting surrounded proposals outlined in a private letter Lightstone sent to the Israeli government last month, the Board official said, confirming an earlier Kan news report on the letter. According to the report, the letter called for relaxation of certain restrictions on “dual-use” humanitarian aid items entering Gaza as well as the signing of agreements that would allow troops from ISF contributing countries to enter Gaza, and approval of measures related to the vetting and entry of a Palestinian police force to be deployed under the Trump plan.

While Arab diplomats and Israeli officials have told The Times of Israel that moving forward with the humanitarian zone has been difficult with Israeli elections approaching — as Netanyahu’s coalition remains wary of reconstruction beginning while Hamas remains armed in half the Strip — the Board official said Israel has been broadly cooperative, but admitted that even with cabinet approval of certain measures, meaningful progress on the pilot zone will be further down the line.

“These pieces are all moving forward. It just takes a little time,” the official said, saying the Board understands “the reality” of Israeli elections, but that nonetheless “we’re seeing that things can move forward, at least from an approvals process or from a cooperation process, even if implementation doesn’t happen 24 hours later.”

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