US troops arrive in Israel to help establish civil-military coordination centre

US military personnel have begun arriving in Israel as part of a broader effort to establish a civil-military coordination centre aimed at supporting the ceasefire in Gaza, according to a US official.

CNN reported earlier this week that up to 200 US troops are expected to be deployed on the ground in Israel to help monitor the implementation of the Gaza plan. The full contingent of approximately 200 service members is expected to be in place by October 12. No US troops will enter Gaza, Caliber.Az reports per CNN. 

According to the official, some of the troops are arriving from existing deployments in the Middle East, while others are being sent from commands in the United States. The team is currently assessing possible locations for the coordination centre.

“It’s going to take some days — weeks — to fully get this set up,” the official said. “This won’t happen overnight.”

The mission of the coordination centre will include facilitating the flow of humanitarian and logistical aid into Gaza, providing security assistance, and overseeing progress toward establishing civilian governance in the territory.

The official emphasised that the initiative is in the early stages and will require time to fully operationalise.

The centre will also serve as a collaborative hub for various international actors, including other governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and private sector partners.

“It’s for everyone to meet, collaborate, and coordinate so you don’t have a bunch of people flooding in trying to do right, but it’s chaos, and they actually do more harm because they’re not working in the same direction and they’re not coordinating,” the official said.

By Sabina Mammadli