After more than two years of conflict, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has opened the door for a new chapter, with the United States stepping in to oversee the peacekeeping process. This development marks a significant shift in the region, as international efforts focus on stabilizing the area.

According to sources, by Tuesday night, 200 U.S. troops had already arrived in Israel. They are set to operate out of a base in the country, bringing along a U.S. Military C-17 transport plane loaded with command-and-control equipment and essential supplies to support their mission.

In a strategic move last week, negotiators working on a peace deal for Gaza convened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. During these talks, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) was asked to provide briefings to both parties involved. Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM Commander, alongside Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, delivered insights on the Civil Military Coordination Center (CMCC) to representatives from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech to the Knesset, lauded President Donald Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend,” underscoring the strong U.S.-Israel ties during this pivotal moment.

The U.S. has committed to playing a heavy coordination role, although it has ruled out deploying troops directly in Gaza. With this assurance, negotiators swiftly communicated the arrangement to both Israeli and Hamas representatives. A well-informed source remarked on the rapid progress, noting that once the opportunity arose, both sides acted with remarkable speed. However, this swift action has left some critical questions unresolved, such as the composition of a stabilization force in Gaza and the mechanisms for ensuring Hamas’s disarmament.

Fox News has learned that the CMCC will be located a few miles northeast of Gaza, not at the Israel Defense Force’s Hatzor Airbase, as some previously reported. The CMCC will be under U.S. leadership, but it will also have representatives from multiple countries and stakeholders, such as the United Nations and private aid groups. U.S. personnel will monitor everything going in and out of Gaza, and will oversee all logistics of delivering aid to the enclave.

While the center is expected to be operational in the coming days, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar have yet to decide whether their representatives will be based there.

Palestinians walk near tents and the rubble of destroyed buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City on Oct. 15, 2025.  (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

Neither Jordan nor Egypt said they would be willing to send troops to stabilize Gaza, and it looks as though countries outside the region could be left to handle the situation, but nothing has been finalized. Additionally, outside countries willing to send troops would likely need a mandate passed by the U.N. Security Council, as well as approval from their own governments, giving Hamas more time to rebuild and fill the power vacuum.

Despite heavy losses in the war and international threats, Hamas fighters have shown signs that they are not ready to stand down. Since the start of the ceasefire, videos of extrajudicial killings by Hamas in public squares began circulating online.

“We strongly urge Hamas to immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza — in both Hamas-held parts of Gaza and those secured by the IDF behind the Yellow Line,” Cooper said in a statement Wednesday. “This is an historic opportunity for peace. Hamas should seize it by fully standing down, strictly adhering to President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, and disarming without delay.”

Fox News has learned of a massive effort taking place behind the scenes to plan and execute the rebuilding of Gaza. Part of the issue is the giant tunnel network under Gaza City. To rebuild the city, the tunnels will need to be filled to make the ground stable enough for construction.

Red Cross vehicles arrive to receive from Hamas terrorists the bodies of deceased hostages who had been held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire deal, in Gaza City on Oct. 14, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

The first phase of the deal remains ongoing as Hamas has failed to deliver all 28 bodies of deceased hostages, making it less clear when the second stage will begin. Israel has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to getting all the deceased hostages’ bodies so they can have proper burials.

On Monday, Israel received the bodies of four deceased hostages later identified as Yossi Sharabi, Binpin Joshi, Guy Iluz and Daniel Peretz. Israel received four more bodies on Tuesday, three of whom were identified as deceased hostages Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi, Uriel Baruch and Eitan Levi. Israel said the fourth body did not match any of the hostages and was in fact a Palestinian. 

“Hamas is required to make all necessary efforts to return the deceased hostages,” the IDF wrote on X.