Despite Hamas rejection of disarmament, Secretary of State Rubio says US to proceed with Gaza stabilization force

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that the Trump administration is moving ahead with its plan to establish a stabilization force and a Gaza governance board.

"That's why we have a sense of urgency about bringing phase one to its full completion, which is the establishment of the Board of Peace, and the establishment of the Palestinian technocratic authority or organization that's going to be on the ground, and then the stabilization force comes closely thereafter," Rubio stated.

While declaring progress, Washington’s top diplomat acknowledged that the U.S. needs to clarify the direction of its comprehensive Gaza plan to its partners worldwide.

"I think we owe them a few more answers before we can ask anybody to firmly commit, but I feel very confident that we have a number of nation states acceptable to all sides in this who are willing to step forward and be a part of that stabilization force," Rubio said. Pakistan is reportedly among the countries that has shown interest in helping reconstruct Gaza following the war.

A key unresolved issue is how the terrorist organization Hamas will be disarmed. The terror group has vowed it will not disarm and has rejected the idea of an international force and administration governing the coastal enclave. Israel has stressed that it will dismantle Hamas if the international community fails to fulfill this crucial task.

Rubio said stabilizing Gaza is essential to securing funding for its costly reconstruction.

"Who's going to pledge billions of dollars to build things that are going to get blown up again because a war starts?" the state secretary said. "They want to know who's in charge, and they want to know that there's security so and that there'll be long-term stability," Rubio added.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Trump administration has asked some 70 countries to contribute to the emerging Gaza stabilization force, among them, France, Italy, El Salvador and Malta. Indonesia, a Muslim-majority Asian nation with no diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, has reportedly offered to send some 20,000 soldiers to Gaza to take part in the International Stabilization Force (ISF).

Wealthy Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are reportedly the top candidates to fund the ISF effort.

However, the ISF initiative is reportedly facing significant challenges. Most countries are unwilling to contribute troops, while those that have agreed to do so insist their forces be deployed within the Yellow Line on the Israeli side of Gaza. As a result, it remains unclear who would police the 47% of the Gaza Strip still controlled by Hamas.

Meanwhile, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are reportedly working on an ambitious plan that seeks to transform war-torn Gaza into a future luxury destination.

The “Project Sunrise” proposal is estimated to cost $112.1 billion over 10 years and envisions the transformation of Gaza City into a hi-tech metropolis and the establishment of a “New Rafah” in southern Gaza as the seat of the new government.