US to Send 200 Troops to Israel to Support Gaza Ceasefire
The United States is deploying up to 200 troops to Israel as part of a new international task force aimed at supporting the Gaza ceasefire deal and getting humanitarian aid into the region, officials confirmed this week. The troops will not enter Gaza itself. One senior official made it clear: “No U.S. troops are intended to go into Gaza.” Instead, they will remain in Israel, helping to set up a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), which will manage logistics, security coordination, and aid going into the war-torn territory.
The American forces, many of whom are already stationed in the Middle East, will be working on logistics, planning, transportation, and engineering. Their mission is to support the ceasefire, ensure aid gets through, and coordinate with international partners.
Countries expected to join the task force include Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE, with the effort being led by U.S. Central Command (Centcom) and Adm. Brad Cooper. The CMCC will also be in touch with both Israeli and Hamas representatives, via Egypt and Qatar, to report on any violations of the truce.
The deployment follows the announcement of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, described as the “first phase” of a broader peace plan, and brokered in part by President Donald Trump. His office said on Wednesday that “Israel and Hamas had signed off on the first phase” of a deal he introduced last week. The CMCC is only one piece of a larger 20-point plan introduced by Trump, which also envisions a temporary international stabilization force for Gaza. But that part hasn’t been finalized and would depend on further progress with the hostage deal.
The deal includes the release of hostages held in Gaza and the return of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees arrested since October 7th, 2023 — the date of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that killed around 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken. According to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, including over 20,100 children.
In the long term, U.S. officials hope the ceasefire will not only reduce violence but also lay the groundwork for new normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Algeria, Syria, and Lebanon have all been mentioned as potential future partners. For now, the focus is on getting the Gaza ceasefire to hold and making sure humanitarian aid reaches civilians who desperately need it. The U.S. troops won’t be fighting — but they will be playing a key behind-the-scenes role in trying to keep a fragile peace on track.
