Foreign Minister Reveals 8,000 TNI Troops to Be Deployed to Gaza in Phases, Starting in Rafah

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono has stated that the deployment of 8,000 TNI troops to Palestine will be carried out in phases, with the peacekeeping force initially stationed in Rafah.

“I believe it will be gradual, because as I mentioned, the phases there are also divided into several sectors. The details are not yet finalised, but there will be roughly five sectors, with the total number of troops expected to be around 20,000 or possibly more across all sectors. But this is something that will be progressive,” Sugiono said during a press briefing in Washington DC on Friday (20 February 2026) local time.

Sugiono affirmed Indonesia’s commitment to sending peacekeeping troops to Gaza to protect civilians there. He also said that a timeline for the troop deployment would be prepared shortly.

When asked whether the peacekeeping force under the Board of Peace would be stationed in Rafah, Sugiono confirmed this but said he did not yet know the precise details.

“It will start from there (Rafah), they said yesterday, but the details will come later — what the operations will look like, what the theatre will look like,” he said.

Sugiono also addressed the question of who would serve as Deputy Commander leading the Indonesian contingent. He said the identity had not yet been determined and that the selection would be left to the TNI.

“That’s not yet clear (the Deputy Commander figure). That will be for the TNI to decide,” he said.

Palestine Agrees to Indonesian Troop Deployment

Sugiono further stated that the Palestinian side was already aware of Indonesia’s plan to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza and had agreed to the decision.

“Yesterday there was also Palestine present — Prof. Dr Ali Saad was there as the Palestinian representative who is also the Chairman of the NCAG, the National Committee on Administration of Gaza. So Palestine was also there, already informed, already understood, and we had also conveyed our National Caveat, so everyone has been involved,” he said.

Sugiono said that the Palestinian representative, Ali Saad, conveyed that what they needed was a safe and stable situation.

“So the first key to this entire comprehensive plan is a ceasefire, then creating a safe and stable environment before the subsequent phases can be carried out. And that was also conveyed yesterday,” he added.