Indonesia Says "8,000 Peacekeeping Troops for Gaza Will Be Ready for Deployment by June"

First country to announce plan to deploy International Stabilization Force

Indonesia is preparing to deploy up to 8,000 troops to the Gaza Strip as part of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), a core element of the Gaza peace plan led by U.S. President Donald Trump. Indonesia is the first country to announce a specific troop deployment plan related to the ISF.

According to the Associated Press on the 16th (local time), Brigadier General Doni Pramono of the Indonesian Armed Forces said that, in line with the government’s decision, a brigade-size force of 8,000 troops drawn from various branches has been organized for deployment to the Gaza Strip. Brigadier General Pramono added that, after completing paperwork related to medical checkups for the troops this month, he plans to review the deployment readiness posture at the end of the month, and that an advance team of about 1,000 personnel is expected to complete preparations for deployment in April, with the remainder ready by June.

However, Brigadier General Pramono stressed that completion of deployment preparations does not mean that deployment is imminent. He explained that an additional political decision and an international agreement are required for actual troop deployment.

Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia. Yonhap News

"No participation in combat missions, use of force only in self-defense"

In a statement, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the troops to be deployed to the Gaza Strip will remain under the command of the Indonesian government and will be assigned solely to humanitarian and stabilization missions, including civilian protection, medical support, reconstruction, and training of Palestinian police. It emphasized that they will not take part in combat missions that could lead to direct clashes with local armed groups, and that the use of force will be allowed only as a last resort for self-defense or to carry out their mission. It also stated that if the deployed troops deviate from these conditions, Indonesia will withdraw them.

The Indonesian government will send troops only with the consent of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and plans to oppose any forced displacement or demographic changes affecting Palestinian residents. The Indonesian forces are expected to be deployed mainly as engineering and medical units in the southern Gaza area between Rafah and Khan Younis.

World's largest Muslim-majority country: "Participating to protect Palestinian interests"

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country by population, has long supported a "two-state solution" that would see Palestine become independent, and has been actively involved in providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

It also does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Israel. The Indonesian government’s position is that it joined the peace committee led by President Trump in order to protect Palestinian interests, because Israel is represented on the committee but there is no representative from the Palestinian side.

Meanwhile, President Trump said on his social media account that the countries participating in the peace committee have pledged to provide thousands of personnel to the ISF and local police, and to contribute more than 5 billion dollars (about 7.2 trillion won) for humanitarian aid and reconstruction. He plans to announce detailed plans related to this at the first meeting of the peace committee to be held in Washington, D.C. on the 19th.

The ISF is a multinational force tasked with training and supporting local police in the Gaza Strip to prevent a security and public-order vacuum, and with ensuring safety in border areas.

However, it remains uncertain whether the second phase of the peace initiative will proceed smoothly as President Trump envisions, because the disarmament of Hamas, the Palestinian armed group, which must precede the deployment of the ISF and the effective operation of the peace committee, has not yet been achieved.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.