US to ‘close its flagship Gaza mission’

The closing of the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in Israel would mark the latest blow to President Trump’s Gaza peace plan, already undermined by repeated Israeli attacks since the October truce.

Diplomats said the move, which has not been previously reported, underscores the difficulties facing US efforts to oversee the truce and coordinate on aid, as Israel seizes more Gaza territory and Hamas firms its grip in areas under its control.

The move could add to unease among Washington’s allies, whom Trump encouraged to deploy personnel to the CMCC and commit funds for his Gaza rebuilding plan, effectively on hold since the US launched its joint war with Israel against Iran.

Trump-led board denies Civil-Military Coordination Centre is shutting down

According to the sources, seven diplomats familiar with CMCC operations, the US-led body’s aid and monitoring responsibilities would soon be handed to a US-commanded international security mission that is meant to deploy to Gaza.

US officials have privately described the move as an overhaul, but diplomats said the International Stabilisation Force would in effect take over, ending the CMCC’s role.

A diplomat briefed on the US plan said that the number of US troops working at the revamped ISF would drop to 40 from around 190. The US would seek to replace those troops with civilian staff from other countries, the diplomats said. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

Diplomats say the CMCC lacked authority to enforce the ceasefire or ensure aid, making it unclear whether folding it into the ISF would have much practical effect on the ground.

Earlier, an official with Trump’s Board of Peace, set up to oversee Gaza policy, declined to comment on the CMCC’s future but said the centre plays a “critical role in ensuring aid deliveries and coordinating efforts” and advancing Trump’s plan.

The White House and the US military’s Middle East command both referred requests for comment to the Board of Peace.

Once the CMCC is folded into the ISF, the body is expected to be rebranded as the International Gaza Support Centre, two of the sources said. It would likely be led by US Major General Jasper Jeffers, the White House-appointed ISF commander.

The ISF was supposed to deploy immediately to Gaza to establish control and maintain security. But that has yet to happen with only a handful of countries having so far pledged troops, and none of them have committed to security roles.

Washington has said US troops would not deploy to Gaza.

The ISF has, however, established a walled-off annex inside the CMCC, which has been operating from a warehouse in southern Israel, but access to the annex is tightly controlled by US troops who, three sources said, regularly deny entry to representatives from allied countries.

The CMCC’s establishment was a key element of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, following a ceasefire meant to halt Israel-Hamas fighting and allow for rebuilding the territory after its pulverization by Israel in two years of fighting.