Morocco formalises Gaza security deployment as post-war stabilisation plans gather pace

The agreement was signed in Rabat during a meeting attended by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, senior defence officials, Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s High Representative for Gaza, and senior ISF commanders, according to Morocco’s state news agency MAP.

The accord provides the legal and operational framework for Morocco’s participation in the multinational force.

Under the agreement, the North African country will deploy senior military officers to the ISF’s joint command alongside members of its gendarmerie and police, while also establishing a military field hospital to support humanitarian operations in Gaza.

Although the signing marks a significant milestone, Morocco’s commitment to the force is not new.

The country was among the five founding troop-contributing nations that pledged personnel to the ISF in February, alongside Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Kosovo, under the international framework created to support Gaza’s transition after the war.

The latest agreement formalises how Morocco’s contribution will be implemented.

The ISF forms part of the broader post-war Gaza framework endorsed by the UN Security Council in Resolution 2803 (2025).

The mission is expected to support ceasefire monitoring, humanitarian operations, police training and civilian protection while helping prepare the territory for governance by a Palestinian technocratic administration.

Preparations for deployment are ongoing and will be phased according to conditions on the ground.

For Morocco, the agreement reinforces a foreign policy that has sought to balance close strategic ties with Western allies and Israel while maintaining support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state under a two-state solution.

Rabat restored diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords but has continued to back Palestinian statehood and has repeatedly called for a negotiated political settlement to the conflict.

The deployment also strengthens Morocco’s profile as one of Africa’s most active contributors to international security initiatives.

Beyond its humanitarian role, participation in the Gaza mission is expected to deepen Rabat’s diplomatic engagement in one of the Middle East’s most closely watched post-conflict reconstruction efforts.

The implementation agreement comes as international efforts to operationalise the stabilisation force continue.

While several countries pledged troops earlier this year, deployment has progressed more slowly than initially expected because of security conditions and the complexity of implementing the wider Gaza peace framework.

By formalising the terms of its participation, Morocco has become one of the first troop-contributing countries to move from political commitment to operational planning, underlining its intention to play a direct role in Gaza’s security and humanitarian recovery if conditions allow.