Israel’s top security officials are increasingly convinced that the U.S.-backed international force tasked with disarming Hamas in Gaza — a central component of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war — is unlikely to materialize, according to Israeli assessments disclosed in recent cabinet briefings.

The force, known as the International Stabilization Force (ISF) and endorsed in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, is designed to secure Gaza after the ceasefire and dismantle Hamas’s remaining terrorist infrastructure. But so far, no country is willing to put boots on the ground to physically confront the organization, Israeli officials say.

The most striking rebuke came privately from Azerbaijan, an unusually close ally that had been among the first capitals consulted on participation. Baku recently informed Israel that while it is willing to help with reconstruction and “maintaining calm,” it will not send troops to engage Hamas or enforce demilitarization, Israel Hayom reported. Similar hesitation has surfaced in multiple countries approached by Washington.

At a Thursday security cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers that both he and Trump’s team share the same fallback plan: If no international actor enforces demilitarization — and Hamas refuses to voluntarily disarm — Israel will do it itself.

“It’s clear from all contacts that if there’s no external force, we’re demilitarizing,” Netanyahu said.

U.S. officials at the joint Israel-U.S. coordination center in Kiryat Gat have reportedly reaffirmed that demilitarization must proceed under Trump’s framework. But the timeline is increasingly unstable, especially as intelligence officials described Hamas’s ongoing efforts to exploit the ceasefire.

In the same meeting, Shin Bet representatives warned that Hamas is using the current pause to rearm, recruit, and rebuild command structures, even gathering IDF artillery fragments and converting them into explosive devices.

“Hamas is exploiting the ceasefire to strengthen its power to prepare against us,” an intelligence official briefed ministers, adding that the group is also appointing new officials to replace commanders killed during Israel’s operations.

Israeli officials say the organization is funneling dual-use construction and electrical materials entering Gaza through international aid channels toward weapons manufacturing — a central concern in Israel’s push to condition reconstruction on demilitarization.

Netanyahu told ministers he urged Washington to delay any rehabilitation of Gaza until demilitarization is physically enforced.

“I told the Americans that they must ensure demilitarization on the ground of Hamas, before any rehabilitation,” he said. U.S. officials reportedly agree that no reconstruction should begin in either the IDF-controlled areas or Hamas-controlled zones until the threat is neutralized.

During a separate November 13 meeting, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir argued that Israel must retain military presence in key positions throughout Gaza even if Hamas unexpectedly lays down its weapons. Reconstruction, he warned, should not proceed anywhere in the territory without verified demilitarization.

The evolving assessments leave Trump’s centerpiece “international solution” in a precarious limbo. If world capitals continue to balk at directly confronting Hamas, Israel may face a choice it has tried to avoid since the war began: becoming Gaza’s de facto security force once again.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)