The Israeli army claimed in a statement that a force from the Paratroopers Brigade carried out an operation in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip to monitor militants and military infrastructure, before discovering a gunman who opened fire towards the soldiers, so the forces responded by firing and killing him without any injuries being recorded among their ranks.
The statement noted that the occupation army carried out a raid on Friday in the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip, which resulted in the martyrdom of "two other militants belonging to the Hamas movement," according to Israeli claims.
The Israeli army indicated that its forces under the Southern Command "remain deployed in the area in accordance with existing understandings," adding that "we will continue to work to remove immediate threats."
This comes as part of Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10, which resulted in the martyrdom of 658 Palestinians and the injury of 1,754 others.
Deployment of an international force
In this context, the official Hebrew Broadcasting Authority reported on Saturday that Israel is preparing to begin deploying an international force in the Gaza Strip starting next May, as part of the next phase of the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump regarding the Strip.
The agency stated that the military force, comprising approximately 5,000 soldiers from Indonesia, in addition to dozens of soldiers from Kazakhstan, Morocco, Albania and Kosovo, is expected to begin its work on May 1st.
She explained that the force will be deployed in the first phase in missions surrounding a Palestinian city being built with Emirati support in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip, before its deployment is later expanded to other areas within what is known as the "yellow line".
The agency added that military delegations from participating countries are expected to arrive in Israel within two weeks to conduct reconnaissance tours in the Gaza Strip, in preparation for the deployment of the international force.
The “yellow line” is a hypothetical line within the Gaza Strip to which the Israeli occupation army temporarily withdrew under the ceasefire, with the understanding that it would carry out further withdrawals later. It separates the areas under the army’s control from the areas where Palestinians are allowed to be present.
The Hebrew Authority noted that hundreds of foreign soldiers will head to Jordan next month for preliminary training before entering the Gaza Strip as part of the international force.
On February 9, the agency reported that preparations had begun for the arrival of thousands of Indonesian soldiers to the Gaza Strip, as part of the international stabilization force included in Trump’s plan to end the Israeli war on Gaza.
On January 16, the White House announced the adoption of transitional management structures in Gaza, which include the "Peace Council," the "Gaza Executive Council," the "National Committee for the Administration of Gaza," and the "International Stabilization Force."
The international stabilization force will lead security operations in Gaza, disarmament, and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials to the sector.
This step falls under the second phase of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, which is supported by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 issued on November 17, 2025.
On October 8, 2023, Israel began a two-year genocide in Gaza, which resulted in over 72,000 Palestinian martyrs and about 172,000 wounded, and widespread destruction affecting 90 percent of the civilian infrastructure.
