While reports confirmed that the US is sending up to 200 troops to Israel to monitor the ceasefire transition process with Gaza, the White House called it false and said these 200 personnel are already stationed at Centcom. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said they will be tasked with monitoring the peace agreement in Israel, and they will work with other international forces on the ground. Leavitt, in fact, called Fox News out for reporting that US troops are headed to Israel — without the necessary context. The US troops, led by Admiral Brad Cooper, will join soldiers from neighboring countries in the region including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE. Officials said some US troops were already in Israel and the rest would join them soon. No troops would be sent to Gaza.
What will the US troops do?
After brokering the peace deal that Hamas has now agreed with, the American role is to create a Joint Control Center which will integrate the multinational force going in. Israel said Friday that the ceasefire began as people began the long walk from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip. Israel agreed early Friday morning to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, which the military said came into effect at noon. As part of the agreement, Hamas would release the remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, while Israeli troops would partially withdraw. The deal was based on a proposal presented by President Donald Trump last week. On Friday, a spokesperson for Israel’s parliament said Trump was expected to visit the chamber in Jerusalem on Monday.Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy, said the US military had verified that Israeli troops had withdrawn to the agreed-upon line inside Gaza. Netanyahu said in a recorded statement Friday that the ceasefire deal would allow Israel to bring back the remaining hostages while maintaining its forces in Gaza.Israel would not compromise on the rest of its demands, he added, including that Hamas lay down its weapons and that Gaza be demilitarized. But Hamas regards disarmament as tantamount to surrender and views armed struggle as a legitimate form of resistance against Israeli control over Palestinian lands. “If this is achieved the easy way, so much the better. If not, it will be done the hard way,” Netanyahu said.
