White House targets Abraham Accords expansion
After the Israel‑Hamas ceasefire, the White House is pressing to expand the Abraham Accords while deploying CENTCOM personnel to Israel to monitor the truce — Adm. Brad Cooper has participated in talks and a U.S. command center could be operational in roughly 2.5 weeks, with officials stressing none of the U.S. team will enter Gaza. Vice President JD Vance said the president will travel to the Middle East to meet hostages and named Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as negotiators, and both Vance and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty said several Muslim‑majority countries, including possibly Indonesia, have signaled readiness to deploy forces to Gaza under a UN‑mandated, Security Council‑authorized framework that Cairo would join.
International
War & Conflict
Politics
📌 Key Facts
- CENTCOM personnel will be on the ground in Israel by Sunday to monitor the Trump‑brokered Hamas ceasefire.
- The U.S. team deployed to Israel has a specified composition and mix of specialties; officials say none of its members will enter Gaza.
- Adm. Brad Cooper, who participated in the Sharm el‑Sheikh talks, is now in Israel, and a U.S. command center connected to the effort could be operational in roughly 2.5 weeks.
- Vice President JD Vance said the President was set to depart 'this evening' for the Middle East to meet hostages and publicly identified Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as key members of the negotiating team.
- Vance said Muslim‑majority countries, including Indonesia, have committed to deploy ground troops to secure Gaza.
- Egypt confirmed some countries have expressed readiness to deploy forces to Gaza and said Cairo itself will commit troops within a U.N.‑mandated framework; officials described a U.N. Security Council pathway to authorize and define the international force’s mission.
📚 Contextual Background
- Israel enforces a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
- A peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump called for Hamas to free all remaining hostages and for the Israeli military to begin withdrawing from parts of Gaza in phases; the plan also proposed transferring parts of Gaza to a "technocratic" Palestinian committee and deploying a temporary security force backed by Arab states.
- A 2025 U.S. peace plan linked a hostage release to a reciprocal exchange involving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
- U.S. officials in 2025 described a two-phase approach to ceasefire negotiations in which an initial hostage release would be followed by an Israeli military pullback to a previously held boundary position, while decisions about Gaza's future governing structure could be negotiated concurrently.
📰 Sources (4)
Transcript: Badr Abdelatty on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Oct. 12, 2025
New information:
- Egypt confirms some countries have expressed readiness to deploy forces to Gaza and that Cairo itself will commit troops within a UN‑mandated framework.
- Details a Security Council pathway to authorize and define the international force’s mission.
Transcript: Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Oct. 12, 2025
New information:
- Vance said the President is set to depart 'this evening' for the Middle East to meet hostages.
- He publicly identified Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as key members of the negotiating team.
- He claimed commitments from Muslim‑majority countries, extending to Indonesia, to deploy ground troops to secure Gaza.
US sends CENTCOM troops to Israel for Trump-brokered Hamas ceasefire monitoring
New information:
- Confirms CENTCOM personnel will be on the ground in Israel by Sunday to monitor the ceasefire.
- Specifies composition and specialties of the U.S. team and that none will enter Gaza.
- Details that Adm. Brad Cooper participated in Sharm el‑Sheikh talks and is now in Israel; command center could be operational in ~2.5 weeks.