Indonesia preparing to deploy up to 8,000 soldiers to Gaza

Key facts

• Indonesia is preparing up to 8,000 soldiers for deployment to Gaza, the first country to do so as part of phase two of the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States late last year.
• Army chief of staff General Maruli Simanjuntak said training for the soldiers had already begun and they would focus on medical and engineering roles in Gaza.
• Indonesia has joined President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, announced last month, which has a mandate from the United Nations Security Council to establish an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to secure border areas in Gaza and ensure demilitarisation including disarmament of Hamas.
• The Board of Peace is due to have its first meeting in Washington on 19 February and will also oversee a new technocratic Palestinian government in Gaza and post-war reconstruction.
• An area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis has already been designated for use by the Indonesian army to build a barracks for several thousand troops, according to Israel's public broadcaster Kan.
• Other Muslim countries like Turkey and Pakistan are also considering sending troops as peacekeepers only and would not participate in the planned disarmament of Hamas.