Above photo: Chen Schimmel.
Western media have called the closure of the Civil-Military Coordination Center the ‘latest blow’ to Trump’s Gaza plan.
Which has been repeatedly frustrated by Israel.
The White House is closing the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) near Gaza in the “latest blow” to US President Donald Trump’s plan for the devastated strip, Reuters reported on 1 May.
The CMCC was established in the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat near the Gaza border in October 2025 after Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance.
The CMCC was staffed with US military personnel and tasked with “monitoring” the ceasefire and boosting the entry of humanitarian aid into the strip under the direction of Trump’s Board of Peace.
However, Israel has regularly violated the ceasefire, killing hundreds of Palestinians in bombings since the agreement took effect. Israel has also frustrated efforts to facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza in the amounts agreed upon under US sponsorship.
Diplomats and US officials told Reuters that the decision to close the CMCC “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 also add to unease among Washington’s allies, whom Trump encouraged to deploy personnel to the CMCC and commit funds for his Gaza rebuilding plan,” the British news agency wrote.
According to seven diplomats, once the CMCC is closed, its aid and ceasefire-monitoring responsibilities will be transferred to the US-led International Security Force (ISF), established following the ceasefire but so far failed to deploy to Gaza.
While officials have privately described the transfer of responsibilities as an “overhaul,” diplomats told Reuters the move would in “effect shutter” the CMCC when the international force takes over.
Diplomats said that, like the CMCC, the ISF would lack authority to ensure Israel respects the ceasefire or allows aid into the strip. As a result, transferring the responsibilities of the CMCC to the ISF would have little “practical effect on the ground.”
The ISF was supposed to deploy immediately to Gaza after its establishment.
However, only a handful of countries have so far pledged troops, and none of them have committed to security roles, fearing they would be tasked with carrying out military operations to disarm Hamas on Israel’s behalf.
The White House has said that although the US will lead the international force, no US troops will deploy to Gaza directly.
Trump’s plan has also stalled as Israel is blocking Palestinian technocrats from the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) from entering the strip.
The Board of Peace established the NCAG, tasking it with administering Gaza during reconstruction.
In a further setback for Trump, few nations have paid their dues to participate in the Board of Peace overseeing the ISF, resulting in a “cash crunch,” Reuters reported in April.
Trump demanded that foreign leaders pay $1 billion each to join.
At the same time, the Israeli army has steadily expanded its ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire took effect. Israeli troops have created a new ‘Orange Line’ which effectively brings 64 percent of the besieged strip under military control.
To assist its expanding occupation of Gaza, Israel has established, armed, and funded Palestinian gangs. The gangs move within areas prohibited to Palestinians under the ceasefire agreement and have been used by Israel to fight Hamas and loot humanitarian aid convoys entering the strip.v
