President Donald Trump will assign 200 American troops already stationed in the Middle East to assist Israel and help oversee the Gaza peace agreement, according to U.S. officials. The early phase of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) deployment in the Gaza Strip will be managed by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
Three or four other countries are also expected to contribute their own forces. No American troops will enter Gaza, U.S. officials told reporters during a White House briefing. Instead, the U.S. military will focus on coordinating the efforts of forces from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, while also working to ensure smooth communication and avoid any clashes with Israeli forces.
Monitoring the Peace Deal
"[Cooper's] role will be to oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations or incursions — everybody is worried about the other side. So much of this is going to be oversight," one US official said.
"Embedded in his team of 200 people will be probably a bunch of people from the Egyptian armed forces who will help, the Qatari armed forces who will help, as well as the Turks and probably the Emiratis," the official said.
"The notion is to make it collegial."
A second U.S. official stressed that "no American troops are expected to enter Gaza." The first official explained that CENTCOM's primary task will be to establish a "command center" to oversee and enforce the initial phase of the newly approved ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This truce is expected to pave the way for the release of about 20 Israeli hostages on Monday.
"The responsibility will be to keep the Israelis informed of what they're seeing, to keep the Egyptians, the Qataris and the Turks informed about what they're seeing, to come up with better security plans," the first official said.
Another Important Phase
Cooper took part in the negotiations that resulted in Wednesday's major diplomatic breakthrough — an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages. "We're already talking to multiple governments about standing up that ISF force. I think with Admiral Cooper, it's going to become a lot easier," the first official said.
"He walked into the room at the first meeting and literally said, 'I can have a command room up and running in two weeks,'" the official said, adding that "we're going to be working [Friday] to try to figure out the exact location" of the CENTCOM-run command room.
It's still unclear how big the peacekeeping force will ultimately be.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified in a post on Thursday night, saying, "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."
Trump's 20-point peace plan — which both sides have agreed to in principle — calls for a multinational force to maintain order in Gaza as Hamas steps down from power.
The document says that "the United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field."
The 20-point plan says, "This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces."
When asked about the possible makeup of the peacekeeping force, Trump sidestepped the question, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon that it was still "to be determined."
