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International Force—a Non-Starter for Gaza?
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) patrol in the village of Khiam, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon, July 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
JNS.org – The idea of deploying an international force to help secure Gaza and deal with Hamas is fraught with challenges, and historical precedents point to the recurring failure of such initiatives.
One version of the idea explored in recent months by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is a multinational Arab force led by the United States. The idea appears to have failed to attract any volunteer countries so far.
Historical examples and current realities in Gaza illustrate why such a mission would likely be ineffective at best, or end up hampering the Israel Defense Forces operations at worst.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a senior research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, provided perspective on past experiences with U.N. forces in the Middle East.
“There is a long history with U.N. forces in the Middle East, and perhaps the most notable example is UNIFIL in Lebanon,” he told JNS. “The force never succeeded in properly reporting on what was happening on the ground,” said the former director of IDF Military Intelligence’s Analysis Division.
The inability of UNIFIL to monitor and report on Hezbollah’s activities, let alone enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which bans Hezbollah from operating in southern Lebanon, is a precedent that is difficult to disregard when examining the Gaza context.
“According to the United Nations, no Hezbollah weapons have ever reached southern Lebanon,” said Amidror. “Furthermore, even when a claim arose, the force never succeeded in verifying it, because in most cases they were not allowed to enter suspected places,” he added.
Such restrictions severely hamper the ability of international forces to perform their duties effectively.
Amidror pointed out that the Six-Day War began in 1967 after the United Nations decided to withdraw its forces from Gaza at a critical moment, highlighting the unreliability of international forces in maintaining security during volatile periods.
“According to all experience in the Middle East, the United Nations is at most a bridging body between the sides, but never solved a problem or enabled supervision in a manner that enabled it to act,” he stated.
Furthermore, the introduction of international forces negatively impacts Israel more than it does Israel’s enemies, he said.
“When the United Nations is on the ground, it hinders Israel more than it does the terrorist organization facing it. Israel must take the U.N. force into account, while the terrorist organization can ignore them and even obstruct the international force in fulfilling its role—to the point of killing its soldiers,” he said.
This dynamic would be particularly problematic in Gaza, where Hamas can exploit the presence of international forces to its advantage, obstructing IDF operations and using international forces as cover, he cautioned.
“As a result, a U.N. presence is very negative from the security perspective of the State of Israel, and not only does it not help, but it is harmful,” he explained.
Professor Eyal Zisser, vice rector of Tel Aviv University and the university’s chair of contemporary Middle East history, noted that international forces tend to be deterred from confronting local terror forces like Hezbollah or Hamas.
Multinational forces “do not have a clear mandate to fight them [terror factions]; their general mandate is to maintain calm along the border,” he stated. This throws into deep doubt the ability of any international forces to deal with Hamas’s entrenchment in Gaza or future attacks by the terrorist group.
Zisser highlighted another critical issue—the unwillingness of countries contributing troops to incur casualties.
“The countries that sent the forces do not want losses and casualties, something that would lead to domestic criticism,” he explained. This aversion to risk leads to a cautious approach that undermines the forces’ operational effectiveness.
Additionally, Zisser argued, the forces are often deployed for a limited time and lack the long-term commitment required to achieve sustained security.
The temporary nature of international deployments means that commanders and soldiers on the ground are reluctant to engage deeply with the complexities of the conflict, he said. As a result, “They usually seek understandings with local elements to ensure calm for both sides,” he told JNS.
“If Israel eliminates Hamas and there will only be a vacuum, that’s one thing, but if Hamas remains on the ground and is armed, that’s a different matter,” he said.
He also pointed out the inherent difficulties in coordinating a coalition of countries for such missions.
“A coalition of countries is harder to mobilize than one country. It is enough for Jordan, for example, to decide that it does want to fight Hamas, and this would collapse the whole structure,” he said.
This lack of cohesion and unified purpose among international forces further diminishes their effectiveness.
“In short, it’s all up to Israel. No one will dismantle Hamas for us,” he concluded. He too cautioned that international forces will create new problems, because “when they are there, Israel will not be able to harm Hamas, which will hide next to them.”
A glance at Lebanon appears to confirm these doubts.
The Alma Center, which specializes in security challenges in the northern arena, noted in a report in December 2023 that Hezbollah frequently uses UNIFIL, as well as the Lebanese Armed Forces, as human shields.
“Hezbollah hopes that IDF retaliation fire will harm the human shield, limiting IDF activity and increasing international pressure on Israel,” according to the center.
International forces in Gaza will likely be exploited by Hamas in precisely the same manner.
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza
Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest
Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
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US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed nonprofit operating aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, is pushing back forcefully against an Associated Press report alleging that its contractors opened fire on Palestinian civilians.
The GHF is accusing the AP of withholding key evidence and relying on a “disgruntled former contractor” as a central source.
“In response, we are pursuing legal action,” the organization said in a statement released Wednesday.
GHF said it conducted an “immediate investigation” after being contacted by the AP, reviewing time-stamped video footage and sworn witness testimony. The group concluded that the allegations were “categorically false,” stating that no civilians were fired upon at any of their distribution sites and that the gunfire heard in the AP’s video came from Israeli forces operating outside the vicinity.
“What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations,” the statement read. “If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action.”
The nonprofit’s public rebuttal raises sharp questions about the AP’s reporting process, suggesting the outlet declined to engage with the organization in good faith and instead leaned on a source GHF describes as having been terminated “for misconduct” weeks prior. The group also claimed the AP’s recent coverage of its activities had begun to “echo narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.”
The AP has not yet responded publicly to the GHF’s accusations or provided clarification about its decision not to share the video footage before publication. The original report alleged that American contractors employed by GHF had fired weapons near or toward civilians.
The GHF statement confirmed that a contractor seen shouting in the AP’s video had been removed from operations, though the group insisted this was unrelated to any violence and did not constitute evidence of wrongdoing.
GHF, which describes its mission as delivering food to Gaza “safely, directly, and without interference,” said it remains committed to transparency but would not allow its operations to be “derailed by misinformation.”
The dispute highlights the fraught information environment in Gaza, where limited access and competing narratives frequently complicate the verification of on-the-ground events.
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