Former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz said Friday on Newsmax that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, and the effort to stabilize Gaza now hinges on assembling an international peacekeeping force willing to deploy under dangerous and uncertain conditions.
“Vice President [JD] Vance had an interesting comment about this last weekend,” Fleitz noted to “American Agenda,” recalling the administration’s cautious optimism as the ceasefire took effect.
“He said that he thought the ceasefire was going as expected. I think everyone knew it was going to be difficult to get Hamas to abide by this agreement, but the priority was getting out the live hostages.”
“That was accomplished,” Fleitz said, adding that while the release of hostages by Hamas was a major step forward, maintaining the truce will be far more complicated.
“Right now, there is an aggressive effort to put together an international stabilization force to try to get Hamas to agree to the ceasefire,” he added.
According to Fleitz, the idea of an international force has gained momentum in diplomatic circles, but questions remain about which nations would contribute troops and under what terms.
“We have to find nations that will deploy troops in Gaza,” he explained. “I think we’re getting closer to that, but the question is, will Hamas cooperate with this force?”
“Because if they’re not going to, some of these troops will not be deployed.”
He warned that any long-term peacekeeping mission in Gaza would be fraught with danger.
“It will be very dangerous, and some of these countries thinking of contributing are saying they’ll only go in if Hamas agrees to cooperate,” Fleitz said. “I’ve heard possible contributors from Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan.”
While several nations have expressed interest, he cautioned that regional politics will undoubtedly complicate the process.
“I think Turkey wants to contribute, but I don’t think Israel will agree to that,” Fleitz said. “Israel also wants to veto troops from Qatar, but I think Egypt probably will be the lead nation contributing troops.”
Fleitz described the current negotiations surrounding the peace deal between Israel and Hamas as delicate and unresolved.
“We’re going to have to figure out what the deal is,” he said.
“I mean, according to the plan, this force will come in, and Hamas will give up its weapons to the force. Now, right now, Hamas does not want to give up its weapons.”
“We’ve also heard that if it does give up its weapons, Hamas fighters want to keep their personal weapons, whatever that means,” he added. “So we have a long way to go.”
Despite the challenges, Fleitz struck a note of cautious optimism.
“There is still hope,” he said. “Israel says it supports a ceasefire, but it’s not going to tolerate violations by Hamas. … we have some difficult decisions that have to be made.”
Israel declared war on Hamas following the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed about 1,200 in the Jewish state and saw 250 people taken hostage back to Gaza.
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