Washington intends to send 200 soldiers to Israel to support and monitor the ceasefire agreement US Army
US troops were sent to Israel as part of the peace deal approved Thursday to support and help monitor the ceasefire, according to multiple news reports.
big US officials told reporters The Associated Press reported that 200 soldiers will initially be on the ground with the “Civil-Military Coordination Center” run by U.S. Central Command to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance to the region devastated by the two-year-old war.
Reuters and ABC News also reported that military forces were being sent to Israel.
US officials said Thursday that these forces are part of a broader team that also includes partner countries, nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities there to help monitor the peace agreement and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza.
U.S. service members have already begun arriving in the area from around the world, according to one official, and will continue to travel to the area over the weekend to begin planning and setting up the center. They added that no American forces will be sent to Gaza, and that about 200 American soldiers with experience in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering will work in the coordination center.
Israel and Hamas agreed to cease hostilities in Gaza on Thursday, an agreement Donald Trump announced on his social network Truth Social, saying it was the first step toward a “strong, lasting, and lasting peace.” A series of questions remain about the next steps, including the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the formation of a future government in the region.
The two sides agreed to an exchange of hostages and prisoners that would release about 20 Israeli hostages believed to be still alive, the remains of others who died, and about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Israeli bombs continued to fall on Gaza, killing nearly 30 people after the deal was announced on Wednesday, but the Palestinians Celebrate in the streets filled with rubble It has been devastated by war, even as strikes continue.
More than two million people have been displaced in Gaza, and humanitarian officials are anxiously awaiting permission from Israel to provide much-needed aid there. From March to May this year, Israel imposed a complete blockade on supplies to the area, and famine was declared in parts of Gaza in August. Only 20% of the aid needed has been delivered in the past few months, according to the United Nations, which said nearly 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other supplies were ready for distribution.
Following the announcement on Wednesday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Tom Fletcher called for all entry points into Gaza to be opened so aid can be delivered “on a much larger scale.”
“Given the level of need, the level of famine and the level of misery and despair, it’s going to take a massive collective effort, and that’s what we’ve been mobilized for,” Fletcher told the AP. “We are fully prepared to implement and implement at scale.”
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the war, most of them civilians. Nearly 169,000 others were infected. But the collapse of health systems, schools and access to food has also taken a devastating toll, with at least 400 additional deaths linked to malnutrition, according to the United Nations, including more than 100 children. Only 1.5% of Gaza’s agricultural land is left arable, with water and soil contaminated by munitions and fires.
With the withdrawal of Israeli forces, part of the agreed-upon process that will leave them with 53% of the territory, according to an Israeli government spokesman, questions remain about how the next steps for stabilization and reconstruction will unfold.
Statements by US officials provide some of the first details about how the ceasefire agreement will be monitored and how the US military will have a role in this effort.
Jason Burke and The Associated Press contributed to this story