The United States is deploying up to 200 troops to Israel to help oversee the Gaza cease-fire process in coordination with regional partners, including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. But the troops, some of whom have already arrived in Israel and will continue to do so through the weekend, won’t be there to conduct offensive operations and won’t be going into Gaza, a U.S. official told Foreign Policy on Friday.
The troops will focus on planning and establishing a civil-military coordination center, the official said, without offering specifics on precisely where it will be in Israel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the developing and sensitive nature of the matter. The center will “help facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance into Gaza during this cease-fire agreement implementation process,” the official said. “Secondly, it will also serve to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire agreement [to] ensure that it remains on track.”
The United States is deploying up to 200 troops to Israel to help oversee the Gaza cease-fire process in coordination with regional partners, including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. But the troops, some of whom have already arrived in Israel and will continue to do so through the weekend, won’t be there to conduct offensive operations and won’t be going into Gaza, a U.S. official told Foreign Policy on Friday.
The troops will focus on planning and establishing a civil-military coordination center, the official said, without offering specifics on precisely where it will be in Israel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the developing and sensitive nature of the matter. The center will “help facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance into Gaza during this cease-fire agreement implementation process,” the official said. “Secondly, it will also serve to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire agreement [to] ensure that it remains on track.”
The aim is to provide a hub for coordination to avoid introducing chaos “in an already strained area,” the official said, and the center will look to “unify the effort to maximize the flow of support that is poured into Gaza.” The effort is designed to help lay the groundwork for the goal of transitioning to civilian governance in the territory, the official added.
The U.S. official could not say how long the deployment might last, stating that there are a lot of “unknowns.”
The task force will be spearheaded by U.S. Central Command, which is led by Adm. Brad Cooper. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X on Thursday that the troops “are already stationed” at Centcom and “will be tasked with monitoring the peace agreement in Israel, and they will work with other international forces on the ground.” Some of the troops being deployed are already in the region, but others are coming from the United States.
This announcement comes after Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to implement the initial phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. A cease-fire is now in effect, and Israeli forces have completed a partial withdrawalpulling back to an agreed-on line in Gaza. Hamas is expected to release the remaining hostages in the coming days, though the deal leaves open the possibility that the remains of some deceased hostages may not be immediately returned due to Hamas’s inability to locate them. More humanitarian aid will also flow into Gaza beginning this weekend.
The peace plan included a call for the United States to collaborate with Arab and other international partners to immediately deploy a temporary international stabilization force to Gaza. The civil-military coordination center will work in support of this force.
Despite cautious optimism, much remains up in the air when it comes to Trump’s plan. There are serious challenges ahead for moving the process forward and reaching an agreement that would lead to a permanent end to the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday signaled that he’s willing to restart the war if Hamas does not disarm—another element of the peace plan and one that Hamas has not yet agreed to. “Hamas will disarm, and Gaza will be demilitarized. If this can be achieved the easy way, all the better; if not, it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said.
When asked whether there were causes for concern regarding the deployment of U.S. troops to Israel amid this period of uncertainty, retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversaw U.S. military operations in the Middle East from 2016 to 2019 as the head of Centcom, told Foreign Policy: “I am always concerned about the safety of our troops—but if this small deployment can catalyze the security response, then it is worth it.”
“Our recent experience in Lebanon is a good model for this—we provide leadership, connectivity, and advice to our partners. Without knowing many details, this seems like a prudent deployment that supports our interests,” Votel added.
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