The Trump administration is preparing to shut the U.S.-led Gaza coordination centre in Israel. Its duties will be transferred to an international security mission, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Officials created the Civil-Military Coordination Centre to monitor the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and support aid flows to Palestinians in Gaza. However, diplomats said the centre lacked the authority to enforce the truce or ensure deliveries.
Seven diplomats familiar with the centre’s operations said authorities would transfer its aid and monitoring responsibilities to the U.S.-commanded International Stabilisation Force.
U.S. officials have privately described the move as an overhaul. Meanwhile, diplomats said the shift would effectively end the centre’s role.
A diplomat briefed on the plan said U.S. troops assigned to the revamped mission would fall to about 40 from around 190. Washington is seeking civilian staff from other countries to replace them.
The Board of Peace, set up to oversee President Donald Trump’s Gaza policy, denied in a social media statement after the Reuters report that the centre was closing.
The White House and the U.S. military’s Middle East command referred comment requests to the Board of Peace.
Two sources said officials plan to rebrand the body as the International Gaza Support Centre after folding it into the International Stabilisation Force.
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The force is likely to be led by U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the White House-appointed commander. Moreover, diplomats said the centre’s momentum faded as Israeli attacks continued despite the ceasefire. Hamas also reassumed governance in parts of Gaza under its control.
More than 800 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.
