Over 500 Moroccan troops train for Gaza force 

Gaza – Up to 500 Moroccan personnel have undergone training in preparation for deployment with the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, a Board of Peace official tells The Times of Israel, as preparations for the multinational force continue despite significant delays in implementing the US-backed Gaza peace plan. The official says the training took place in Morocco, beginning around late August and involving an initial group of officers and instructors, followed by the broader contingent. The training was conducted by the US-led ISF, although the official could not confirm whether it had been fully completed yet. Morocco committed in February to deploying police officers and military personnel to postwar Gaza, becoming the first Arab country to do so publicly. While three other countries — Albania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo — have also agreed to contribute troops, Morocco is slated to be the first of them to actually deploy personnel. Meanwhile, the official also reports modest progress on a proposed UAE-backed compound for displaced Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled portion of Gaza, apparently in line with remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. In a briefing, Israeli PM Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not permit Gaza’s reconstruction until Hamas was disarmed and the territory demilitarized, while acknowledging an exception for the Emirati project, plans for which were first revealed earlier this year. “The only thing we’ve agreed to [in Gaza] is an ‘Emirati bubble’ — they’re people who help us with many things,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had authorized certain infrastructure work for the project near its security zone.