By Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) are set to join the proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza, following what reports describe as a telephone conversation between United States President Donald Trump and President Yoweri Museveni. According to media reports, Museveni gave the go ahead for Uganda’s participation in the multinational mission aimed at supporting peace, security and post conflict stabilisation in the war ravaged Gaza Strip.
The proposed deployment is part of a broader international peace plan that seeks to restore security, facilitate humanitarian operations and support reconstruction in Gaza after months of conflict. Uganda would join other countries expected to contribute troops to the mission, building on the UPDF’s long standing experience in regional and international peace support operations, including Somalia.
The proposed force forms part of a wider peace framework being developed by the Board of Peace, an international body established to coordinate post conflict governance, humanitarian assistance and long term reconstruction efforts in Gaza. The board is expected to oversee the transition from emergency relief to rebuilding critical infrastructure, restoring public services and creating conditions for lasting stability.
The reconstruction of Gaza is expected to be one of the largest and most expensive post conflict recovery efforts in recent history. Various international assessments have estimated that rebuilding homes, hospitals, schools, roads, power networks and other essential infrastructure could cost between US$53 billion and US$70 billion, depending on the final scope of the damage and the duration of the conflict. The proposed stabilisation force is intended to provide the security needed to enable humanitarian operations and the reconstruction programme to proceed.
