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Trump Reportedly Planning to Appoint US General to Command ISF in Gaza

A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Trump Reportedly Planning to Appoint US General to Command ISF in Gaza

A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

President Donald Trump is planning to appoint an American two-star general to command the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, according to two US officials and two Israeli officials.

Despite the claims, Axios quoted a White House official as saying there have been discussions around the composition of the ISF, the Board of Peace, and a technocratic Palestinian government, "but no definitive decisions have been made or communicated."

The October 10 ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City's ruins. Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased.

But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 383 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, and it has attacked scores of fighters.

On Thursday, medics said at least one Palestinian woman was killed, and some other people were wounded in Israeli tank shelling in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military didn't offer immediate comment. Medics had earlier said two women were killed in the Jabalia incident.

The second phase of the ceasefire deal involves the Israeli army pulling farther back, the ISF deploying to Gaza, and a new governing structure coming into force, including the Trump-led Board of Peace.

The UN Security Council recently authorized both the ISF and the board.

Trump told reporters Wednesday that he's planning to announce the Gaza Board of Peace in early 2026.

According to Axios, two Israeli officials said US Ambassador Mike Waltz to the UN, who visited Israel this week, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials that the Trump administration is going to lead the ISF and appoint a two-star general as its commander.

"Waltz even said he knows the general personally and stressed he is a very serious guy," one Israeli official said.

The Israeli officials said Waltz stressed that having an American general in charge of the ISF should give Israel confidence it will operate according to appropriate standards.

Two US officials confirmed that the plan is to appoint a US general to lead the ISF.

The US has proposed that former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov serve as Board of Peace representative on the ground in Gaza, working with a future Palestinian technocratic government, sources with knowledge said.

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Arab World

Desperate Gazans Pull Iron Bars from Rubble to Construct Tents and Scratch Out a Living

A Palestinian worker breaks concrete to extract steel bars from destroyed homes, using only simple hand tools amid a severe shortage of construction materials caused by long-standing restrictions on the entry of cement and iron, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer
A Palestinian worker breaks concrete to extract steel bars from destroyed homes, using only simple hand tools amid a severe shortage of construction materials caused by long-standing restrictions on the entry of cement and iron, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer
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Desperate Gazans Pull Iron Bars from Rubble to Construct Tents and Scratch Out a Living

A Palestinian worker breaks concrete to extract steel bars from destroyed homes, using only simple hand tools amid a severe shortage of construction materials caused by long-standing restrictions on the entry of cement and iron, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer
A Palestinian worker breaks concrete to extract steel bars from destroyed homes, using only simple hand tools amid a severe shortage of construction materials caused by long-standing restrictions on the entry of cement and iron, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer

As winter bites in Gaza, displaced Palestinians set out every day to homes destroyed by Israel. There they rip out iron rods from the walls and use them to prop up their flimsy tents or sell to scratch out a living in an enclave that will take years to recover from war.

The rods have become a hot item in Gaza, where they are twisted up in the wreckage left by an Israeli military campaign that spared few homes. Some residents spend days pounding away at thick cement to extract them, others do the back-breaking work for a week or more, Reuters.

With only rudimentary tools such as shovels, pickaxes and hammers, work proceeds at a snail's pace.

UN SAYS WAR GENERATED 61 MILLION TONS OF RUBBLE

Once the bars helped hold up cement walls in family homes, today they are destined for urgently-needed tents as temperatures at night fall. Heavy rainstorms have already submerged many Gazans' meagre belongings, adding to their misery.

Palestinian father-of-six Wael al-Jabra, 53, was putting together a makeshift tent, trying to hammer together two steel bars.

"I don’t have money to buy wood, of course. So, I had to extract this iron from the house. The house is made of five floors. We don’t have anything apart from God and this house that was sheltering us," he said.

In November, the UN Development Program said that the war in Gaza had generated 61 million tons of rubble, citing estimates based on satellite imagery.

Most of it can be cleared within seven years under the right conditions, it said.

A ROD CAN COST $15

A 10-meter metal rod costs displaced families $15 - a steep amount because many barely have cash.

The Palestinian group Hamas triggered the conflict after attacking Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli calculations. Israel responded with a military campaign that killed over 70,000 people and laid waste to Gaza.

Carrying heavy buckets of rubble and pushing a wheelbarrow, Suleiman al-Arja, 19, described a typical day in the quest for iron rods.

"We pass by destroyed houses and agree with the house owner. He gives us a choice, whether to clean the house (clear the rubble) in exchange for iron or clean the house for money. We tell him that we want the iron and we start breaking the iron. As you can see, we spend a week, sometimes a week and a half," he said.

FOCUS IS ON DAILY STRUGGLE TO LIVE

US President Donald Trump promised to put together an international stabilization force and an economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza, which was impoverished even before the war. Palestinians in Gaza can't look so far ahead even though a ceasefire was reached in October. Every day is a struggle for Palestinians who have seen peace plans come and go over many decades.

Their minds are focused on finding ways to survive, every single day.

"We do this work to get our food and drink, to cover our living expenses and not need anyone, so we earn a living through halal (legitimate) means and effort. These are my hands," said Haitham Arbiea, 29.

Palestinians accuse Israel of depriving Gaza of the iron bars.

An Israeli official told Reuters that construction materials are considered dual use items - items for civilian but also potential military use - and will not be allowed into Gaza until the second phase of the US-led peace plan. The official cited concerns that the materials could be used for the building of tunnels, which have been used by Hamas.

Arab World

Washington’s Opening Toward Damascus Clashes with Israel’s Ground Strategy

A meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House, July 2025 (AFP). 
A meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House, July 2025 (AFP). 
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Washington’s Opening Toward Damascus Clashes with Israel’s Ground Strategy

A meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House, July 2025 (AFP). 
A meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House, July 2025 (AFP). 

Washington’s recent openness toward Damascus is increasingly colliding with Israel’s assertive on-the-ground approach, highlighting a widening rift between the two traditional allies over the future of Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The United States now appears to be pushing for expanded security cooperation with the new Syrian government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, aiming to confront shared security threats and stabilize the country.

At a conference convened to assess the new phase in Syria, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), placed future cooperation with Damascus at the center of discussions about US policy toward “post-Assad Syria.”

Cooper stressed that Washington is working “increasingly” with the Syrian army to counter common security threats, asserting that integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the national army would enhance internal stability, improve border control, and strengthen Syria’s ability to pursue Daesh.

Cooper added that since last October, US forces have provided advice, assistance, and enablement to Syrian authorities in more than twenty operations against Daesh and in thwarting weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah, noting that such gains are only possible through close coordination with Syrian government forces.

This American trajectory, however, now overlaps with an expanding disagreement between Washington and Tel Aviv over the contours of a “new Syria,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The paper reported an unusually sharp divergence between the two allies over Syria’s future one year after Assad’s fall, as President Donald Trump pushes a more open approach toward Damascus with Saudi and Turkish backing.

Trump has lifted sanctions on al-Sharaa, praising him as a “young, attractive, tough guy" with a “real shot at doing a good job", which signaled Washington’s readiness for a major policy shift.

In contrast, Israel quickly moved after the regime’s collapse to establish a military presence in southern Syria, taking control of an estimated 250 square kilometers.

The area became a launchpad for an expanded Israeli security posture that has included arrests, weapons seizures, airstrikes deep inside Syrian territory, and even a strike on the military command headquarters in Damascus, actions justified as protection of the Druze community.

The WSJ attributes this assertive field strategy to a shift in Israel’s security mindset after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, noting that Israeli decision-makers now believe any security concession could open a dangerous breach.

Former Israeli national security adviser Yaakov Amidror remarked that making decisions from Washington is far easier than making them from the Golan Heights, reflecting Israel’s preference to secure its interests unilaterally.

While the US administration works to broker security negotiations between Damascus and Tel Aviv - parallel to de-escalation efforts in Gaza and Ukraine - Trump is urging Israel to engage in a “strong, honest dialogue” with Syria. Yet these efforts face obstacles, chief among them al-Sharaa’s rejection of Israel’s proposal for a demilitarized zone stretching from southern Damascus to the border, which he argues would create a dangerous security vacuum.

Within Israel, influential voices warn against overreliance on force, fearing conflict with Washington’s desire to rehabilitate the new Syrian state and potentially integrate it into the Abraham Accords framework.

Some Israeli experts propose allowing Syrian army deployment near the border while banning heavy weapons and Turkish forces, shifting from displaying military power to building diplomatic power. Diplomats predict any future agreement may resemble the 1974 disengagement framework, albeit updated for current realities.

The Wall Street Journal concluded that the US–Israeli dispute over Syria is no passing episode but a test of the resilience of their longstanding alliance amid a reshaped regional landscape.

“The new Syria” has become an open arena for redefining Middle Eastern power balances, as Washington attempts to merge counterterrorism efforts with rebuilding the Syrian state and crafting a new security formula between Damascus and Tel Aviv.

 

 

Arab World

Lebanese Foreign Minister Declines Invitation to Tehran, Proposes Meeting in Neutral Country

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)
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Lebanese Foreign Minister Declines Invitation to Tehran, Proposes Meeting in Neutral Country

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji has declined an invitation from his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to visit Tehran, proposing instead that the two meet in a mutually agreed-upon neutral country.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Raji said he was “unable to accept” the invitation at this time, citing unspecified “current circumstances.”

He stressed that his reply “does not mean rejecting dialogue,” rather “the proper atmosphere is not appropriate.”

He added that any renewed engagement with Iran must rest on clear principles, including respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, non-interference in its internal affairs, and adherence to international norms governing state-to-state relations.

Araghchi had recently invited Raji to Tehran for talks on bilateral relations.

Official Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the invitation was sent personally to the minister, not to the Lebanese state, and that Raji’s response “expresses his own position.”

Lebanon and Iran continue diplomatic engagement despite Beirut’s repeated warnings - conveyed directly to visiting Iranian officials - that Lebanon rejects any foreign meddling in its internal affairs.

Tensions between Raji and Tehran were visible during the August visit of Ali Larijani, secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Larijani said he lacked the time to meet Raji; the minister replied: “Even if I had the time, I would not have met him.”

Former Lebanese foreign minister Fares Boueiz said Raji’s latest stance is a clear diplomatic message that relations between Beirut and Tehran are “incomplete.”

When differences arise, Boueiz noted, first meetings are often held in a third country to establish a framework for resolving disputes.

Boueiz added that a foreign minister rarely deviates from the official position of the state. He argued that Raji’s move reflects the views of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and implicitly signal that Iran should halt its support for a particular Lebanese faction and stop its interference.

Lebanon has repeatedly accused Iran of meddling in its internal affairs. During his meeting with Larijani in August, Aoun reiterated that no group in Lebanon may carry weapons or rely on external backing.

While open to cooperation with Iran, Lebanon insists such engagement remains within the limits of sovereignty and mutual respect.

Boueiz recalled that Lebanese-Iranian diplomatic relations stabilized after 1990, when he restored protocol-based engagement in line with the Vienna Convention. During the civil war, Iranian delegations routinely entered Lebanon via Syria without coordinating with the Lebanese government and met directly with Hezbollah.

After Boueiz confronted Tehran’s ambassador in 1990, then-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati agreed to normalize diplomatic procedures, leading to formal exchanges and signed agreements.

Some Lebanese observers view Raji’s stance as evidence of diminishing Iranian influence in Lebanon, long bolstered by Tehran’s support for Hezbollah.

Boueiz, however, argues that Iran’s role is closely tied to its evolving relationship with Washington. US-Iran dynamics, including ongoing discussions over sanctions relief and frozen assets, inevitably ripple into Lebanon: “Whenever US-Iran negotiations worsen, tensions rise in Lebanon; when talks calm down, Lebanon feels the relief.”