US to send roughly 200 troops to Israel to monitor Gaza peace deal

( Just the News )

The Trump administration on Thursday announced that the United States is sending approximately 200 troops to Israel in order to monitor the peace deal in Gaza. 

The troops will report to United States Central Command, which will establish a “civil-military coordination center” in Israel. 

The center will be staffed by service members with expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering.

A senior U.S. official told CNN that the troops will join soldiers from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to provide oversight of the peace agreement and ensure neither side violates the agreement.

No troops are expected to be in Gaza.

The Israeli Cabinet also confirmed Thursday that it approved the “outline” of a deal to release hostages held by Hamas. 

President Donald Trump said that he expects the hostages will be released on Monday or Tuesday. The hostage release is part of the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan to restore peace to Israel.