East African troops prepare for Gaza peacekeeping role in US-backed plan

Military officials from Uganda and Burundi visited Israel last week to discuss deploying troops to Gaza as part of an international security force envisioned by US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for the fragile ceasefire, according to officials.

An official with the board said that Ugandan officials had joined a Burundian military delegation and that Uganda was finalising details of its participation after its parliament approved the troop contribution this month.

Nothing has been finalised with Burundi, but the official said they looked forward to starting the process.

“We shared significant knowledge with one another, and the Burundi representatives expressed interest in our mission,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss talks with potential troop-contributing countries ahead of any agreement.

A Burundian military official said that three other senior military officers led the delegation to Israel and that Burundi appeared intent on joining. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.