Trump administration plans to build military base for 5,000 troops in Gaza

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to construct a military base in the Gaza Strip capable of housing 5,000 personnel, according to contract records from the Board of Peace obtained by The Guardian.

The facility will span more than 350 acres and is intended to serve as the headquarters for the International Stabilization Force (ISF), a future multi-national body.

The ISF is an arm of the Board of Peace, a newly formed organization created to manage Gaza. The board is chaired by Donald Trump and co-led by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Plans for the site include armored watchtowers, a firing range, bunkers, and military equipment storage. Barbed wire will surround the entire perimeter.

The Indonesian government has reportedly offered to contribute as many as 8,000 soldiers to the mission.

The United Nations Security Council authorized the Board of Peace to establish the ISF with a mandate to maintain peace and secure Gaza’s borders.

Specific rules of engagement remain unclear, as does the role the force will play in disarming Hamas.

A Trump administration official declined to comment on the contract but emphasized that no U.S. troops will be deployed on the ground.

The proposal to establish a military base in the Gaza Strip reflects the Trump administration’s signature foreign policy strategy: utilizing quasi-international frameworks to advance U.S. objectives while retaining absolute executive control. Nominally endorsed by the United Nations, the "Board of Peace" operates in practice as a Washington-steered entity. Its charter, which appears to grant Donald Trump a permanent leadership mandate, has drawn significant international scrutiny. Legal scholar Adil Haque has characterized the Board as a "legal fiction"—a multilateral veneer designed to provide the United States with a blank check for unilateral action.

The initiative’s governance and financial structures remain opaque. Reports that U.S. officials are utilizing encrypted messaging apps like Signal to conduct official business suggest a deliberate effort to bypass traditional transparency and congressional oversight. This high-risk crisis management model is quintessential Jared Kushner, favoring transactional, business-style "deals" over the established protocols of professional diplomacy.

Beyond its administrative unconventionality, the plan faces profound legal and ethical challenges. Human rights lawyer Diana Buttu warns that constructing a military installation on Palestinian territory without the consent of local authorities could be legally classified as an act of occupation. Furthermore, the proposal lacks critical operational detail: there is no clear framework for the International Security Force’s (ISF) rules of engagement, nor a viable strategy for the disarmament of Hamas. Without these foundational elements, the project risks entrenching instability rather than facilitating a durable peace.

While this plan has no direct impact on the day-to-day affairs of the Vietnamese-American community—such as the nail salon industry, small business operations, or visa processing for F2B and EB-5 categories—U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East remains a constant subject of discussion. Whether in the cafes of Little Saigon or over lunch at local phở restaurants, these global developments continue to be a topic of keen interest for many in the diaspora.