US to send about 200 troops to ‘oversee’ Gaza ceasefire deal

As Israel and Hamas move towards implementing the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement, Washington has confirmed plans to deploy around 200 American troops to Israel to assist in monitoring and supporting the deal’s execution.

According to a report by The Associated Press, the troops will form part of a wider coalition that includes partner nations, non-governmental organisations, and private sector entities. Their mission will focus on facilitating humanitarian aid, as well as providing logistical and security assistance in the region, which has been devastated by nearly two years of conflict.

Senior US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US Central Command (CENTCOM) will establish a “civil-military coordination centre” in Israel. This new hub will oversee the delivery of humanitarian assistance and aid the transition towards stability in Gaza. The officials stressed that no American troops would enter the enclave itself.

The coordination centre will be staffed by approximately 200 US service members with expertise in transportation, logistics, security, planning, and engineering. One official noted that the team would play a key role in monitoring the ceasefire’s implementation and assisting the transition to a civilian-led administration in Gaza.

A second US official said the personnel would be drawn from CENTCOM and other commands worldwide, with deployments already under way. More troops are expected to arrive in the coming days to begin setting up the coordination centre.

The move follows the approval of the first phase of the ceasefire deal by Israel’s government and Hamas’s agreement on Thursday. The proposal, put forward by US President Donald Trump, includes the release of all 48 hostages held in Gaza, among them 20 believed to be alive, alongside a cessation of hostilities in the coastal territory.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed, “The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages — the living and the deceased.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the ceasefire is expected to come into force within 24 hours of approval by both parties.

President Trump announced on Thursday that negotiators from both sides had finalised the first phase of the deal during talks in Cairo. He also said he plans to travel to Egypt for the formal signing ceremony and indicated that all hostages could be released by “Monday” or “Tuesday.”

The development marks the most significant breakthrough in efforts to end the long-running conflict between Israel and Hamas, though questions remain about Hamas’s disarmament, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the structure of any future governance in the territory.

With agency inputs