US military to start Gaza ceasefire monitoring as international force plans stall
Diplomatic snags and concerns that their troops could be caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel are raising questions about a US proposal to stabilize postwar Gaza with an international force, despite "great optimism" cited by US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — The US military has begun operating a new civilian-military cooperation center in southern Israel, which officials have said will be tasked with monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and coordinating the flow of international aid and reconstruction for the enclave.
US Vice President JD Vance made the announcement during a visit Tuesday to the US military-run site at Kiryat Gat just northeast of Gaza, but he did not include a clear timeline to deploy an international stabilization force inside the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
“There are going to be no American boots on the ground in Gaza,” Vance said during a press conference at the site, flanked by US envoy Steve Witkoff, top US commander in the Middle East Adm. Brad Cooper and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“We don’t yet have the international security force set up,” Vance said. “That’s something we’re working toward.”
