WASHINGTON

A senior Pentagon official maintained Tuesday that no US troops will be on the ground in the Gaza Strip, but acknowledged planning is underway to base international troops near the Palestinian territory.

The official said reports circulating in Israeli media are "inaccurate," but did not offer specifics. Still, the official said that "as a planning organization, U.S. military personnel are currently working with international military partners to develop potential options for basing international troops that are part of a future International Stabilization Force (ISF)."

"The ISF’s formation will support the President’s Gaza Peace Plan," the official, who commented on the matter on condition of anonymity, said in a statement. "To be clear, no U.S. troops will be deployed into Gaza. Any reporting to the contrary is false.”

The Ynet and Shomrim Israeli media outlets earlier reported that the US is planning to construct a $500 million military base, which will be large enough to house several thousand troops, near the Gaza border.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, citing anonymous Israeli officials, said Washington seeks to establish a large military base in the Gaza border area, which would mark “a significant escalation of US activity in Israel.”

It said the project would be “the first large-scale American military installation on Israeli territory, underscoring a deepening US commitment to post-war stabilization efforts in Gaza.”

During Tel Aviv’s two-year war in Gaza, the US installed a THAAD missile defense system, which was used to intercept Iranian missiles and drones during a 12-day conflict with Israel, it added.

“The establishment of an American base on Israeli soil shows just how determined Washington is to be involved in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” an Israeli official told the newspaper.

Currently, 200 US military personnel are stationed in the US-backed Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel to monitor a ceasefire.

According to Israeli officials, the US-led center is expected to take full control of humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, excluding Israel’s COGAT mechanism.

The newspaper did not specify the exact location of the planned facility, but said surveys are underway on possible sites.

The Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect Oct. 10, based on a 20-point plan put forward by US President Donald Trump. The ISF is a key component of the proposal, and would be composed of volunteer nations that would work to stabilize Gaza amid Israel's staged withdrawal.

Phase one of the ceasefire deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. It also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 69,000 victims and injured more than 170,600, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

*Ahmet Salih Alacaci contributed to this report​​​​​​​