The US Gaza mission created to monitor the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and coordinate aid is set to be shut down by the Trump administration, a move that underscores how badly Washington’s postwar Gaza plan has struggled to gain traction, Reuters reported.
The Civil-Military Coordination Centre, or CMCC, operates from southern Israel and was meant to serve as the flagship U.S.-led hub for ceasefire monitoring, aid coordination and early planning for Gaza’s reconstruction. But diplomats and officials told Reuters the center will soon be folded into a U.S.-commanded International Stabilization Force that has not yet effectively deployed inside Gaza.
US Gaza mission faces shutdown
The CMCC was established after the October 2025 ceasefire as a central part of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war and move the territory toward stabilization. The Associated Press reported at the time that about 200 U.S. troops were working with the Israeli military and delegations from other countries at the coordination center in southern Israel.
Now, Reuters reports that the center’s responsibilities will be transferred to the International Stabilization Force, or ISF. U.S. officials have privately described the move as an overhaul, but diplomats familiar with the operation said it would effectively shutter the CMCC once the ISF takes over.
A diplomat briefed on the plan told Reuters that the number of U.S. troops working at the revamped mission would fall to about 40 from around 190. The United States would seek to replace some of those personnel with civilian staff from other countries, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.
That is a major scaling back. A mission once sold as the operational backbone of Washington’s Gaza strategy is now being reduced, renamed and absorbed into a force that remains uncertain in both mandate and manpower.
Why the CMCC struggled
The central criticism is simple: the CMCC did not have enough authority to enforce the ceasefire or guarantee aid deliveries. Diplomats told Reuters the center lacked the power to make either side comply, raising doubts about whether folding it into the ISF would change conditions on the ground.
The problem is not just bureaucratic. Israel has continued military actions in Gaza despite the ceasefire, while Hamas has refused to lay down its arms and has reasserted control in parts of the territory it still governs, Reuters reported.
That combination leaves the U.S. plan stuck between two realities. Israel says it must act against Hamas threats and people approaching ceasefire lines. Palestinians say Israel’s actions are being used to take more land and make return or reconstruction impossible.
A serious stabilization plan cannot survive if it has no enforcement mechanism. Washington can convene allies, create command centers and issue statements, but Gaza will not be stabilized by process alone.
Aid and rebuilding remain stuck
The CMCC was supposed to help ensure aid reached Palestinians in need. But diplomats told Reuters that aid levels have remained largely stagnant even as more commercial goods have entered Gaza. Israel has banned many items it says have potential dual military and civilian uses, including poles needed for tents and heavy machinery needed to clear rubble.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency controlling access to Gaza, told Reuters that 80% of trucks entering Gaza daily carried commercial goods purchased in Israel and were meant to supplement humanitarian supplies.
The humanitarian challenge is enormous. Reuters reported that Israel’s two-year campaign reduced much of Gaza to rubble, displaced nearly the entire population of about two million people and wrecked infrastructure needed for water, sanitation and electricity.
This is where the administration’s policy faces its hardest test. Aid dependency cannot become permanent, and Hamas cannot be allowed to exploit humanitarian channels for control or weapons. But civilians also cannot rebuild without materials, machinery, sanitation and basic security.
A limited-government, pro-security approach should be clear-eyed about both sides of that equation. Aid must be monitored. Hamas must not benefit. But bureaucratic gridlock and blanket restrictions that prevent shelter and rubble removal will only deepen instability.
International force has not delivered
The ISF was supposed to deploy quickly to Gaza to establish control and maintain security. That has not happened, Reuters reported, with only a handful of countries pledging troops and none committing to security roles.
AP previously reported that the United States sought a U.N. Security Council mandate for a Gaza stabilization force of at least two years, with the force expected to help demilitarize Gaza, secure border areas and coordinate humanitarian assistance. The Security Council later approved the U.S.-backed plan, authorizing an international stabilization force and endorsing Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, AP reported.
The gap between approval and execution is now the issue. A stabilization force that exists on paper but cannot deploy in meaningful numbers will not secure Gaza, disarm Hamas or protect aid routes.
Washington has said U.S. troops will not deploy into Gaza, according to Reuters. That position is understandable. Americans should be deeply skeptical of open-ended military commitments in the Middle East. But if the United States will not send troops and allies will not provide security forces, the plan needs a realistic alternative.
Allies may lose confidence
Dozens of countries, including Germany, France, Britain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, sent personnel to the CMCC as they sought influence over Gaza’s future, Reuters reported. But some countries now send representatives only occasionally, and diplomats said attendance has faded as the mission lost momentum.
That is a warning sign. Allies will not keep investing personnel and political capital in a mission that appears unable to move aid, enforce security or shape outcomes.
The Trump administration is right to insist that Hamas cannot govern Gaza and threaten Israel again. It is also right to seek regional and international support instead of putting American troops directly into another Gaza mission.
But strategy requires more than the right instincts. It requires enforceable authority, reliable partners and clear metrics for success. If those are missing, a coordination center becomes a symbol of ambition rather than a tool of policy.
What comes next
Once folded into the ISF, the mission is expected to be rebranded as the International Gaza Support Centre, Reuters reported. It would likely be led by U.S. Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the White House-appointed ISF commander.
A Board of Peace official declined to comment to Reuters on the CMCC’s future, but said the center plays a “critical role” in aid deliveries, coordination and advancing Trump’s plan. The White House and U.S. Central Command referred Reuters’ questions to the board.
The balanced view is that shutting or reshaping the CMCC does not automatically mean the Gaza plan has failed. Bureaucracies sometimes need to be rebuilt when the mission changes. A leaner structure could be more effective if it is tied to a real security force and clearer authority.
But this looks less like a tactical adjustment than an admission that the original model was not working. The mission lacked enforcement power. Aid remained constrained. Hamas stayed armed. Israel continued operations. Allies grew uncertain.
The United States should not pour personnel and money into a symbolic structure simply to avoid admitting a problem. If the US Gaza mission is being closed because it failed to deliver, Washington should say so plainly and replace it with something more disciplined.
Gaza needs security, not slogans. Israel needs guarantees, not paper promises. Palestinians need reconstruction that is not hijacked by Hamas. And American taxpayers deserve a foreign policy that measures results, not press releases.
