The US is 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, non-government organisations and the private sector, American officials said on Thursday evening.
A senior US official told reporters that no American forces would be going into Gaza, but would rather help to establish a "civil-military co-ordination centre" that will help enable the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory, as well as logistics and security assistance.
A defence official told The National that among the 200 or so troops would be strategic planners and experts in logistics, transport and others, mainly from the US army. They would be part of a subsequent phase of the peace deal.
"Phase one is to stop [the two sides] killing each other," the official said.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US military's Central Command, will initially oversee the troops. "His role will be to oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations," another official said.
Military officials from Egypt, Turkey and other regional countries would be embedded in the team, an official said.
These are the first details on how the ceasefire deal would be monitored and how the US military would have a role in that.
After Israel and Hamas agreed this week to the first phase of a US administration plan to halt the fighting, questions remained on next steps, including Hamas disarmament, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a future government in the territory.
One of the officials said the new team would help monitor implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza.
Part of the 20-point Gaza peace plan, proposed by US President Donald Trump, is the formation of an "International Stabilisation Force", which will be posted in Gaza with support from Arab states.
The force will develop and train a Palestinian police force, which will become a long-term internal security body, working to ensure security with Israel and neighbouring Egypt.
