Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that an international force in Gaza would not gain the trust of the Palestinian people without Turkey’s participation.
In a Bloomberg interview published on Monday, Erdogan said the success of a so-called international stabilisation force in the enclave would depend on the inclusion of on-the-ground actors with legitimacy.
“It should be known that the countries party to the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration, including Turkey, are the most legitimate actors in this process,” he said. “You will appreciate that, in this sense, it would be difficult for any mechanism without Turkey to gain the trust of the Palestinian people.”
The “peace deal” brokered by US President Donald Trump in September envisions an international force to guard Gaza and take over areas currently controlled by Hamas.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes Turkey’s participation in the force, which has discouraged other potential partners such as Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia from contributing troops.
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In a December meeting with Trump, Netanyahu sought to draw a red line over Ankara’s potential involvement.
Trump, however, said during a joint press conference that he did not rule out Turkish participation. Trump said “Turkey has been great,” and added that Turkish forces would be good in Gaza.
According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Ankara is not insisting on deploying its troops to Gaza but is concerned that the deal could collapse if Hamas does not trust the international force.
Erdogan, meanwhile, told Bloomberg that Turkey is uniquely positioned to take on the task, noting its open security and diplomatic channels with Israel.
“We are in a key position for such a mission due to our deep historical ties with the Palestinian side, the security and diplomacy channels we have maintained with Israel in the past, and our regional influence as a Nato member country,” he said.
Ceasefire violations
Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 1,000 times since it began in early October.
More than 71,271 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s genocide in Gaza in the past two years, and at least 171,233 others have been wounded.
Since the start of the winter season, several children have died from the cold weather, while more than a dozen have been killed by buildings collapsing due to storms and strong winds.
According to the Shelter Cluster, an inter-agency mechanism, more than 42,000 tents and makeshift shelters were damaged between 10 and 17 December 2025, affecting nearly a quarter of a million people in the besieged enclave.
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave continue, with local media reporting shelling, gunshots and air strikes.
A growing number of organisations and countries have also voiced criticism of Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian relief, another violation of the US-brokered ceasefire.
Early this week, a raft of aid organisations working in Gaza warned of “devastating” consequences after Israel announced it would ban them from operating.
Doctors Without Borders, one of 37 organisations affected by these changes, said in a post on X that if it and other aid groups lose access to operate in Gaza and the West Bank, “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be cut off from essential care”.
“The Palestinian health system is decimated, essential infrastructure is destroyed, and people struggle to meet basic needs. People need more services, not less,” it stressed on Thursday.
The commissioner general of the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees warned that the “new Israeli restrictions on international NGOs are further compromising the humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip”.
Meanwhile, eight Arab and Islamic countries demanded that Israel allow rights groups “sustainable, predictable and unrestricted” access to the territories, especially amid the difficult winter conditions.
The countries – Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey – published the joint statement on Friday, following a similar statement by 10 major countries on Tuesday.
