rubio-urges-rapid-deployment-of-peacekeeping-force-to-gaza

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited Israel on Friday, has sought a quick deployment of a peacekeeping force to Gaza. Both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement brokered by Donald Trump himself.

 

The deployment of a peacekeeping force is specified in the text of the current peace proposal put forward by Donald Trump and agreed upon by both Israel and Hamas.

 

Fighting has stopped in Gaza since the ceasefire was signed on October 10, exactly just over two years after Israel began its invasion of Gaza following the October 7 attack.

 

At this juncture, it remains unclear which countries will be sending troops to help safeguard the truce in Gaza. A lot of countries, particularly from Muslim-majority nations, have offered to send their troops along with forces from the US and other Western countries to secure the ceasefire.

 

However, Rubio has made it clear that the right to accept and reject troops from a particular country will be decided by Israel. Among those nations that have volunteered are Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation; the UAE, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020; and Turkey, which was the first Muslim country to recognise Israeli sovereignty but whose president has been extremely critical of Israel while maintaining friendly ties to Hamas.

 

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It is expected in a given mix that Israel would never want Turkish troops to become part of the ceasefire force, as it knows the involvement of Ankara’s troops would be detrimental to Israel seeking or pressing any military lines further into Gaza.

 

Rubio told reporters that the US may seek UN sponsorship of the mission, making it possible for nations that require a UN mission mandate before they can legally deploy troops.

 

Israel's deadly invasion of Gaza has killed more than 68,000 people, with more than 150,000 injured and thousands more buried under the rubble since October 7, 2023.

 

The majority of Gaza's 2.2 million residents were forced to flee their homes in the Israeli offensive and have started to make their way back after the October 10 ceasefire.