Israel's top diplomat says Turkish troops will have no role in Gaza
force
[October 28, 2025]
By JUSTIN SPIKE and RENATA BRITO
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Israel will not allow Turkish troops to take
part in an international force the United States has proposed to oversee
the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israel's top
diplomat said Monday.
The 20-point deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this
month calls for a force to monitor the ceasefire but does not mention
which countries would provide troops.
It says the U.S. would “work with Arab and international partners to
develop a temporary International Stabilization Force” to deploy in
Gaza. The force would train and provide support to “vetted Palestinian
police forces" and will “consult with Jordan and Egypt, who have
extensive experience in this field.”
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement is still being carried out,
and focuses on the release of the remaining dead hostages in Gaza, in
exchange for Palestinian bodies held by Israel.
Late Monday, the Israeli military said the remains of another hostage
had been returned to Israel.
Since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the remains of 16 hostages have
been returned to Israel. Another 12 bodies still need to be recovered in
Gaza and handed over.
Questions about the force
Countries that are considering taking part in the international force in
Gaza also want more clarity on its mandate. Officials from some Arab and
Muslim nations have said the focus must be on peacekeeping in Gaza, not
acting as an enforcer of peace between Israel and Hamas.
“What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that
it is peacekeeping, because if it’s peace enforcing, nobody will want to
touch that,” King Abdullah II of Jordan said in an interview with the
BBC.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to Hungary, Israeli Foreign
Minister Gideon Saar said Israel opposes the participation of Turkish
troops in Gaza because of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's longstanding
hostility to Israel. Saar said Israel has communicated its stance to
U.S. officials.
“Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at
least fair to Israel,” Saar said. He did not elaborate.
U.S. officials have said there would be no American boots on the ground
in Gaza. Around 200 U.S. troops are now in Israel working alongside its
military and other countries' delegations at a coordination center,
planning Gaza's stabilization and reconstruction.
During visits to Israel last week, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said multiple countries would be
interested in joining the international force for Gaza.
The U.S. was working to secure a U.N. mandate or other international
authorization for it, Rubio said.
The ceasefire agreement calls for Israeli troops to gradually withdraw
from more areas of Gaza as the international force “establishes control
and stability” and as Hamas militants disarm.
Exchange of Gaza hostages and Palestinian bodies in Israel continues
In exchange for the returned dead hostages, Israel has so far handed
back to Gaza 195 Palestinian bodies, fewer than half of which have been
identified.
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Relatives mourn over the coffin of slain hostage Yossi Sharabi
during his funeral procession in Rishon LeZion, Israel, Monday, Oct.
27, 2025. Sharabi remains were returned from Gaza to Israel as part
of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.(AP Photo/Leo
Correa)
On Monday, 41 unidentified bodies were buried in the Gaza city of Deir
al-Balah and a funeral was held in Israel for the slain hostage Yossi
Sharabi, whose remains were returned earlier this month.
Over the weekend, Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment
to help search for the bodies of hostages still in Gaza. That work
continued Monday in Khan Younis.
The last 20 living hostages were returned to Israel when the ceasefire
began, and in exchange Israel freed roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Most of those freed were seized in Gaza by Israeli troops during the
two-year war and have been held without charge. Also among those
released were 250 Palestinians sentenced to prison terms, most of them
convicted for deadly attacks on Israelis dating back decades, according
to Israel’s Justice Ministry.
Turkish interest
At a summit in Egypt two weeks ago, Erdogan was one of four leaders to
sign a document outlining Trump’s vision for Gaza and regional peace.
The others were Trump, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
Erdogan last week said Turkey was “ready to provide all kinds of support
to Gaza.” Officials from Turkey's Defense Ministry, speaking on
condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the country was
preparing for whatever role it might be asked to play, whether it's
peacekeeping or humanitarian assistance.
Turkey also has close ties with Hamas. Turkey once had strong diplomatic
relations with Israel, though they have been at an all-time low over the
war in Gaza, sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Erdogan has criticized Israel, and particularly Netanyahu, since the
start of the war, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. He
has accused Israel of genocide — which Israel strongly denies — and has
compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
Hamas political officials regularly visit Turkey, and Israel previously
accused Turkey of allowing Hamas to plan attacks from its territory,
which Turkey has denied, as well as carry out recruitment and
fundraising. Turkey doesn’t consider Hamas to be a terror organization
and frames its relations with the group as part of its broader support
for the Palestinians.
“Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us,” Netanyahu
said Sunday during a government meeting. “This is, of course, acceptable
to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have
expressed in recent days.”
___
Brito reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Josef Federman
in Jerusalem and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this
report.
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