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.
