Erdoğan: Türkiye has not received request for Gaza military mission

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that Türkiye has not received any official request to deploy troops to Gaza as part of an international stabilisation force.

Erdoğan said Ankara remained open to taking part in peacekeeping initiatives, but stressed that no such arrangements had yet been agreed, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

He also accused Israel of continuing to violate the ceasefire, saying the situation was hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave.

“Israel must fulfil its commitments, fully respect the ceasefire and allow life in Gaza to return to normal,” Erdoğan said.

He added that urgent action was needed to address housing shortages and meet the basic needs of Gaza’s population, saying regional security must be restored. Türkiye, he said, was prepared to take responsibility as part of that process if required.

International troops may be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a U.N.-authorized stabilization force, two U.S. officials said, though how Palestinian militant group Hamas will be disarmed remains unclear.

The International Stabilisation Force (ISF) “would not fight Hamas,” the officials said, adding that many countries have expressed interest in contributing. U.S. Central Command will host a planning conference in Doha on December 16, with representatives from more than 25 countries expected to attend.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “There is a lot of quiet planning that's going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal. We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace.”

Indonesia has indicated it could deploy up to 20,000 troops for health and construction tasks. “It is still in the planning and preparation stages,” said Indonesian Defence Ministry spokesperson Rico Sirait.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz noted the ISF is authorised to demilitarize Gaza “by all means necessary,” adding that discussions on rules of engagement are ongoing. Hamas has stated it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the plan but cautioned that some tasks may be beyond the force’s abilities: “We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform … but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev