Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure a fragile ceasefire under U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will have veto power over which countries can join a planned international security force in Gaza.#Israel #Gaza #Netanyahu pic.twitter.com/Fx60cSg377
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 26, 2025
It remains unclear whether Arab and other states will be ready to commit troops, in part given the refusal of Palestinian Hamas militants to disarm as called for by the plan, while Israel has voiced concerns about the make-up of the force.
While the Trump administration has ruled out sending U.S. soldiers into the Gaza Strip, it has been speaking to Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Azerbaijan to contribute to the multinational force.
“We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate,” Netanyahu said.
“This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days,” he told a session of his cabinet.
Last week Netanyahu hinted that he would be opposed to any role for Turkish security forces in Gaza. Once-warm Turkish-Israeli relations soured drastically during the Gaza war, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan lambasting Israel’s devastating air and ground campaign in the small Palestinian enclave.
Israel, which besieged Gaza for two years to back up its air and ground war in the enclave against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group’s cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, continues to control all access to the territory.
Hamas expands hostage search
Hamas has expanded its search for bodies of hostages in the Gaza Strip, the group said Sunday, a day after Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help retrieve them.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, Hamas is expected to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. Israel has agreed to return 15 bodies of Palestinians for each one.
Children and others watched the Egyptian equipment claw through the sand near badly damaged buildings in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Hamas has returned the remains of 15 hostages but hasn’t handed over any in five days. Israel has returned the bodies of 195 Palestinians, many of them unidentified.
With additional input by GVS US and Intl desk