US WILL NOT DEPLOY TROOPS TO GAZA OR ISRAEL, SAYS VICE PRESIDENT VANCE

ISTANBUL, Oct 12 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- US Vice President JD Vance said that despite the role Washington played in brokering the new Gaza ceasefire deal, the United States has no plans to deploy American troops to Gaza or Israel, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

“We’re not planning to put boots on the ground,” Vance told NBC in an interview aired on Sunday, adding that this applies to both Gaza and Israel.

“What we already have is a US Central Command,” he said, referring to the US CENTCOM, which covers the Middle East. “They are going to monitor the terms of the ceasefire and ensure that humanitarian aid is flowing.”

Vance said that many majority-Muslim countries had offered to send troops to the region to help secure Gaza, adding that American forces would not be needed.

He said he believes the ceasefire deal has brought an end to the war in Gaza, but stressed that “a lot of work” remains to ensure it endures.

Vance added that, ahead of a Monday deadline, the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza could be released “any moment now”.

“You can’t say exactly the moment they will be released, but we have every expectation — that’s why the president is going — that he will be greeting the hostages early next week,” he said, referring to Monday’s peace summit in Egypt, which former President Donald Trump is set to attend.

He also told ABC that 20 living hostages are expected to be released within the next 24 hours.

The summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and attended by representatives from over 20 countries, seeks to “end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability,” the Egyptian presidency said.

Last month, Trump unveiled a 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

The second phase calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force made up of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas. It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and the reconstruction of the enclave, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.

The formation of the security force is expected to be discussed during the summit in Egypt, as Arab countries want the UN Security Council to set its mandate, amid Israeli opposition, claiming that this would restrict its military freedom of action.

Arab and Muslim countries have largely welcomed the plan, though some officials have said that many details still require discussion and negotiation before it can be fully implemented.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,600 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, leaving Gaza largely uninhabitable.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU