{"id":8736,"date":"2026-08-29T02:46:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/?p=8736"},"modified":"2026-08-29T02:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:46:35","slug":"uganda-approves-gaza-troop-deployment-as-african-states-weigh-joining-us-israel-security-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/29\/uganda-approves-gaza-troop-deployment-as-african-states-weigh-joining-us-israel-security-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Uganda approves Gaza troop deployment as African states weigh joining US-Israel security plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uganda has approved the deployment of around 1,200 troops to a proposed international security force in Gaza, while Burundi is considering joining the mission \u2014 raising concerns that African soldiers could be drawn into enforcing a US-backed post-war order in the devastated Palestinian territory.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military officials from Uganda and Burundi travelled to Israel last week for talks over possible participation in the proposed International Stabilization Force, according to officials familiar with the discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The force is being assembled under US President Donald Trump\u2019s Board of Peace and is expected to eventually number around 20,000 personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Board of Peace official said Ugandan officials participated alongside a Burundian military delegation during the talks in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda is now finalising the details of its involvement after parliament approved the deployment earlier this month, while Burundi has yet to formally commit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prospect of African troops entering Gaza under a security framework closely coordinated with Washington and Israel is likely to prove deeply controversial, particularly as Israeli forces continue to occupy large parts of the territory and Palestinians remain under enormous military and humanitarian pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda preparing 1,200 troops for Gaza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda has committed approximately 1,200 personnel to the proposed force, according to officials familiar with preparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Ugandan military officer said troops were already being identified for a possible deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burundi’s delegation reportedly included several senior military officers, signalling serious consideration of participation, although the size and terms of any Burundian contribution remain unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions also remain over what military, political or financial incentives participating governments could receive in return for sending troops into Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For African governments, participation would place their soldiers inside one of the world’s most politically sensitive conflicts \u2014 potentially policing Palestinians while Israel retains extensive military control over the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US struggles to assemble 20,000-strong force<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington’s proposed International Stabilization Force is expected to consist of around 20,000 troops under the command of US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, commitments remain far below that target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morocco has reportedly pledged up to 500 personnel, while Kosovo, Kazakhstan and Albania have together offered around 80 troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indonesia had previously indicated that it was preparing to send approximately 8,000 personnel but suspended those plans following US and Israeli attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difficulty in securing troops reflects the political risks attached to a mission that would operate inside Gaza while fundamental questions over Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian sovereignty and the future of Palestinian resistance remain unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign troops could be tasked with enforcing post-war order<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the US-backed proposal, foreign forces would deploy into areas of Gaza administered by an incoming technocratic committee after Israeli troops withdraw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their mandate would reportedly include monitoring the ceasefire, training Palestinian police, providing security assistance and facilitating humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crucially, the plan also envisages the disarmament of Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That element makes the deployment particularly contentious, as foreign troops could ultimately find themselves participating in a security architecture designed to disarm Palestinian resistance groups while Israel maintains overwhelming military superiority and continues to control large areas of Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics of such arrangements have long warned against replacing direct Israeli military control with an externally managed security system in which foreign states police Palestinians without addressing the underlying occupation, displacement and denial of Palestinian political sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel still controls around 60% of Gaza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ceasefire that began last October has stalled amid disputes over Israeli withdrawal and demands for Hamas to disarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamas has accepted the latest US proposal, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected an immediate withdrawal from approximately 60% of Gaza currently under Israeli control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must first be completely disarmed before Israeli forces pull back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite continued US diplomatic efforts, Israel has yet to provide a concrete commitment to a full withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has fuelled concerns that an international force could be deployed before the occupation itself has ended, effectively inserting foreign troops between Palestinians and an Israeli military that continues to dominate much of Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somalia veterans could be redirected towards Gaza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda and Burundi have extensive experience in foreign military deployments after spending years contributing thousands of soldiers to African Union missions in Somalia against al-Shabab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security analyst Paul D. Williams of George Washington University said both countries had demonstrated a willingness to sustain difficult overseas deployments and absorb significant casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gradual drawdown of the Somalia mission could also encourage Kampala and Bujumbura to seek alternative deployments carrying international financial and military backing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeploying to Gaza with U.S. support is one way to do that,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Gaza is not Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any African deployment would take place inside occupied Palestinian territory, under a plan driven heavily by Washington and coordinated with Israel, while Palestinians themselves continue to demand an end to Israeli military control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Uganda and Burundi, the decision therefore goes far beyond conventional peacekeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It raises a fundamental question: whether African soldiers should be deployed to help administer and enforce a foreign-designed security order in Gaza while Israeli occupation and Palestinian dispossession remain unresolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Uganda has approved the deployment of around 1,200 troops to a proposed international security force in Gaza, while Burundi is considering joining the mission \u2014 raising concerns that African soldiers could be drawn into enforcing a US-backed post-war order in the devastated Palestinian territory. Military officials from Uganda and Burundi travelled to Israel last week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,205],"tags":[519,14,15,405,455,60],"class_list":["post-8736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","category-trending","tag-1-nation-media","tag-gaza","tag-israel","tag-one-nation-media","tag-onm","tag-uganda"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t