US opens Gaza aid coordination center in southern Israel after ceasefire deal

Five days after world leaders approved a U.S.-brokered plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday opened a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel to serve as the main hub for Gaza stabilization efforts.

The CMCC is designed to support stabilization efforts, according to a press release.

Sources told Fox News last week that about 200 U.S. troops had arrived in Israel, accompanied by a C-17 transport plane packed with command and control equipment and supplies.

U.S. military personnel will not deploy to Gaza, focusing on facilitating the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance from their international counterparts into Gaza.

VANCE WARNS HAMAS AS GAZA PEACE PLAN’S CIVIL-MILITARY COOPERATION CENTER OPENS

Vice President JD Vance, center, and CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper, left, watch as U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks Tuesday following a military briefing at the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel. (Nathan Howard/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

“Bringing together stakeholders who share the goal of successful stabilization in Gaza is essential for a peaceful transition,” CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a press release. “Over the next two weeks, U.S. personnel will integrate representatives from partner nations, non-governmental organizations, international institutions and the private sector as they arrive at the coordination center.”

The CMCC will also oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, with an operations center designed to monitor developments in Gaza in real time.

The US military will oversee the next phase of the peace agreement from its coordination base in Israel

A Palestinian collects food at a humanitarian aid distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Its offices and meeting spaces are structured to “promote collaborative planning among leaders, representatives and staff,” according to the release.

Fox News has learned that the CMCC will be located a few kilometers northeast of Gaza.

Approximately 200 U.S. military personnel with expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering established the CMCC under the direction of U.S. Army Central Commander Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank.

US SENDS CENTCOM TROOPS TO ISRAEL TO MONITOR TRUMP-NEGOTIATED HAMAS CEASEFIRE

Destroyed buildings are seen in Gaza, seen from the Israeli side of the border. (Reuters)

“The team worked tirelessly to build CMCC from the ground up,” Cooper wrote in a statement. “They can take great pride in knowing that they have built something that is essential to enable the transition to civilian governance in Gaza.”

Due to the extensive tunnel network beneath Gaza City, the tunnels will need to be filled in to make the ground stable enough for construction.

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Hamas has not yet returned the 28 bodies of the deceased hostages, delaying the start of the next stage.

Israel, which has reiterated its commitment to recovering the remains of each hostage, this week received the bodies of seven identified hostages, as well as that of a Palestinian mistakenly included among them.

Jennifer Griffin of Fox News and Rachel Wolf of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.