Amid the news of the Israel Cabinet approving the ceasefire and hostage release deal, thereby providing an end in sight for the Gaza war, the White House
has offered a clarification over the matter. Earlier in the day, several reports had stated that the United States will be sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private sector players. Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release, had told news agency AP that the US 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.
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has dismissed the news. “This is NOT true and taken out of context. 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,” she wrote on X.
After Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a Trump administration plan to halt the fighting, a litany of questions remain on next steps, including Hamas disarmament, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a future government in the territory.
A breakthrough deal to pause the war in Gaza was reached Wednesday after the United States and mediators in the region pressured both Israel and Hamas to end the fighting that has devastated the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, sparked other conflicts and isolated Israel.
That push sealed an agreement on a first phase that would free the remaining living Israeli hostages within days in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
