US planning military base in Gaza for stabilisation force

The Trump administration is set to build a military base in Gaza to house part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) that will be deployed as part of the ceasefire deal reached last October.

The base, which will cover an area of 350 acres and house 5,000 personnel, will be 1,400 meters by 1,100 meters and protected by 26 trailer-mounted armoured watchtowers, according to documents seen by The Guardian.

It will be located in southern Gaza and be encircled by barbed wire.

A small group of bidders have been on a visit to the site, according to a source speaking with The Guardian, with international construction companies with experience in war zones hoping to receive contracts.

The plans for the base also detail a network of bunkers six by four meters and two point five meters tall, where soldiers can go for protection.

Other parts of the plans include a "Human Remains Protocol," which details how if human remains or cultural artefacts are dug up during the construction, work will stop, and a contracting officer will be notified for direction.

Most of Gaza has been devastated by Israel's two-year genocidal war on the enclave, which has killed over 72,000 Palestinians but this is thought to be an undercount.

Thousands of uncounted victims are believed to be trapped under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel's indiscriminate bombardment.

Plans for the new base come amid the inaugural meeting of Trump's 'Board of Peace', the overarching body that is planning for a post war Gaza that the ISF will be part of.

At the meeting, held in Washington, Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania became the first countries to pledge troops to the ISF, including 8,000 from Indonesia.

An officer from Indonesia will assume the force's deputy command

US Major General Jasper Jeffries, who will command the force, said that the ISF will deploy from the southern part of the Gaza Strip and begin training police forces there.

Some 2,000 Palestinians have applied to be in the new police, according to Nikolay Mladenov, who is overseeing the post-war construction of the enclave.

The total force set to be stationed in Gaza is planned at 20,000 soldiers, who will train 12,000 police officers, according to Jeffries.

It is not known what the forces' rules of engagement are if conflict were to renew, nor whether it will be tasked with disarming Hamas.

According to the UN, which approved the creation of the 'Board of Peace', the force's main objectives are securing Gaza's border, maintaining peace, protecting civilians, and training a new Palestinian police force.