Three months after its high-profile launch at US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in Washington, the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza is in jeopardy. None of the five countries that pledged troops—Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania—have made any substantial deployments, raising questions about the viability of the plan to shore up the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The ceasefire, already under strain, has seen Hamas refuse to disarm while Israel continues airstrikes on what it calls militant targets, often resulting in civilian casualties. The broader regional context has further complicated matters: the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran has made it politically toxic for Arab and Muslim leaders to openly cooperate with Washington and Jerusalem, widely perceived as aggressors. The resulting global energy crisis has also strained national budgets.
Indonesia's Suspension Deals a Heavy Blow
The most significant setback came from Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, which had pledged 8,000 troops—by far the largest contribution. Around 1,000 were to deploy in April, with the remainder following in June. However, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told parliament last week that Jakarta had placed the commitment on indefinite hold, citing a lack of implementation guidelines from a distracted Washington. “New dynamics have emerged,” he said. “Because the intensity of the conflict between US and Iranian forces remains very high, the BoP has tended to be left behind. Since the BoP has been left behind, the ISF has also been left behind.”
Domestic pressures also played a role. The Iran war is deeply unpopular in Indonesia, where soaring prices have hit the economy. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, director of the Indonesia-Middle East/North Africa desk at Jakarta's Centre for Economic and Law Studies, noted widespread scepticism about the Board of Peace. “If you talk to the people on the street, I don’t think they believe that the Board of Peace will actually help the people of Gaza,” he said. The loss of four Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon during fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has further soured public opinion on international commitments.
Other Pledges Remain Unfulfilled
Kazakhstan has limited its support to a “humanitarian component,” including medical units and a field hospital, but its Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Albania's Defence Ministry declined to provide details, calling the process “dynamic and ongoing.” Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Arben Kingji told reporters earlier this month that while the military had “participated in reconnaissance activities,” no troops had been sent, and only a few would join the force's headquarters. Kosovo, expected to send 20 troops, said in April it was in the “final phase of preparations,” but the Defence Ministry did not update on progress. Morocco's Foreign Ministry also remained silent; at the Board of Peace's inaugural meeting, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita had pledged “high-level military officers to the joint military command.”
The force was to be commanded by US Major General Jasper Jeffers, but the US military's Central Command declined to comment, referring queries to the Board of Peace. Spokesperson Brad Klapper also declined to discuss Indonesia's decision or the force's future, instead pointing to remarks by Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian defence minister appointed by Trump as the board's director.
Ceasefire Deadlock Blamed on Hamas
Speaking at the UN on 21 May, Mladenov said the ISF cannot begin operations until a second phase of the ceasefire is agreed and implemented, requiring Hamas to disarm and Israel to start withdrawing. Israeli forces currently control about 60% of Gaza. Mladenov called Hamas's disarmament “non-negotiable,” arguing that “you cannot build a future with armed groups running the streets, hiding in tunnels and stockpiling weapons.”
The deadlock has broader implications for European interests. The oil price surge linked to the US-Iran conflict has already hit European economies, and a collapse of the Gaza ceasefire could further destabilise the Eastern Mediterranean. Meanwhile, the Gaza reconstruction fund remains empty, compounding the humanitarian crisis. For European capitals watching from Brussels to Berlin, the ISF's failure underscores the limits of US-led initiatives in a region where local dynamics and broader conflicts increasingly dictate outcomes.
