Uganda Approves Troops for Proposed Gaza Force as Israel Rejects Withdrawal Before Hamas Disarmament

Uganda’s parliament approved the deployment of troops to Gaza on August 6 as part of a proposed international stabilization force, creating an actionable step toward a U.S.-backed framework for Gaza’s postwar transition.

But the proposal faces a central sequencing dispute. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on August 4 that Israel would not withdraw from its current lines until Hamas had been completely disarmed. Under the framework described by the Associated Press, Israeli forces would withdraw in phases before the proposed international force entered Gaza.

That gap between the two positions leaves the proposed arrangement without a settled path to implementation. Uganda’s parliamentary approval authorizes a possible contribution, but it does not establish that Ugandan troops will deploy or that the international force is operational.

Uganda’s decision

The Ugandan approval concerns a proposed international stabilization force for Gaza. The force would be part of a plan addressing the territory’s postwar transition, rather than a completed peace agreement.

The reports supplied for this article do not specify how many Ugandan troops could be sent. They also do not establish the total size of the proposed force, its final membership, its mandate or a deployment date.

Those details matter because parliamentary approval is only one step in creating an international operation. The timing, force composition and operating authority remain unsettled, and it is not clear whether Uganda’s decision will result in an actual deployment.

The unresolved withdrawal question

Netanyahu’s August 4 statement directly challenged the sequencing associated with the U.S.-backed arrangement. According to the AP account, the proposed framework envisioned a phased Israeli withdrawal followed by deployment of the international force.

Netanyahu instead said Israel would not withdraw from its current positions until Hamas was completely disarmed. The AP report said he was pushing back on a recently announced U.S.-backed arrangement and faced an October reelection contest.

The disagreement is not a technical detail. If an international force is intended to enter only after an Israeli withdrawal, an Israeli condition requiring complete disarmament first could delay or prevent the force’s deployment. The approved source material does not establish whether the framework contains a mechanism to resolve that conflict.

Hamas’ stated condition

Hamas has described a different sequence. In an AP report published July 31, the group said it would disarm if Israel halted attacks and withdrew from Gaza.

That statement does not show that Hamas has accepted the proposed disarmament terms in full. It instead links disarmament to an Israeli halt in attacks and troop withdrawal, placing Hamas’ stated condition opposite Israel’s demand that disarmament come first.

The same report described obstacles to implementing the arrangement. It said a Palestinian technocratic committee was eager to enter Gaza but concerned about Israeli restrictions. The committee’s reported interest does not establish that it has entered the territory or that the proposed governance arrangements are in operation.

What happens next

The immediate next step is not a confirmed deployment but continued work on the unresolved framework. Uganda’s approval may provide a potential troop contribution, while the Israeli and Hamas positions leave the order of withdrawal, disarmament and international entry unsettled.

No deadline for deployment is identified in the approved reports. Until the force’s mandate, membership and timing are resolved—and until the dispute over whether withdrawal or disarmament comes first is addressed—the proposal remains an arrangement under negotiation rather than an operating international mission.

Sources

• Uganda approves sending troops for international force in Gaza, Associated Press
• Netanyahu says no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed, Associated Press
• Hamas says it will disarm if Israel halts strikes and withdraws from Gaza, but obstacles remain, Associated Press

Look for updates to this story

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