US sending 200 troops to Israel to monitor Gaza ceasefire deal ahead of Trump visit

The United States is sending the troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organisations and private sector players, U.S. officials say.

After Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the Trump administration plan to halt the fighting, a litany of questions remains on the next steps, including Hamas disarmament, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a future government in the territory.

A coordination center will be staffed by about 200 U.S. service members who have expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering, said the official, who noted that no American troops will be sent into Gaza.

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A second official said troops would come from U.S. Central Command as well as other parts of the globe. That official added that troops already have begun arriving and will continue to travel to the region over the weekend to begin planning and efforts to establish the center.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release, say U.S. Central Command is going to establish a "civil-military coordination center" in Israel that will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory wracked by two years of war.

When asked for comment on the matter, Department of Defence officials pointed to a tweet from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said: "To be clear: up to 200 U.S. personnel, who are already stationed at CENTCOM, will be tasked with monitoring the peace agreement in Israel, and they will work with other international forces on the ground."

Following the announcement of the troop deployment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement saying Israel's cabinet had approved the "outline" of a deal to release all hostages, living and dead, held by Hamas in Gaza.

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The move marks a key step in implementing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that was brokered by Trump.

The brief statement focused on the hostage release and made no mention of the other parts of Trump's plan for ending the war. Israel is expected to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the remaining 48 hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Around 20 of the hostages are believed to be alive.