TEL AVIV — U.S. troops will begin operations at an Israeli military base on Sunday to monitor the implementation of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.

Channel 12 said at least 200 U.S. troops will be stationed at Hatzor Air Base in southern Israel as part of a monitoring task force. There was no immediate confirmation of the report from either U.S. or Israeli authorities.

An Israeli security official told Channel 12 that further troop withdrawals from Gaza are not currently under discussion.

However, another official said U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his team have started working on maps for a future withdrawal from the territory.

Witkoff said on X on Saturday that he, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Bradley Cooper, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Gaza “to verify Israel’s compliance with Phase I of the agreement.”

According to Israeli media, Witkoff’s visit focused on reviewing the deployment sites of a planned multinational task force composed of troops from Islamic, Arab, and European countries.

The force will be stationed between Gaza’s urban zones—where Israeli troops are set to withdraw—and the enclave’s border with Israel.

“Under the agreement, the Israeli army will not carry out any further withdrawal until the International Stabilization Force enters Gaza,” Channel 12 reported, adding that the deployment of the multinational force is expected to take several weeks.

The composition and mandate of the force will be discussed Monday at the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit in Egypt. Arab nations are calling for the U.N. Security Council to define the force’s legal authority—an approach Israel opposes, citing concerns over restrictions on its military freedom of action.

The summit, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, will bring together representatives from more than 20 countries.

According to the Egyptian presidency, the meeting aims 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.”

Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he unveiled on Sept. 29.

The plan includes a Gaza ceasefire, the release of Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the enclave. The first phase took effect Friday.

A second phase of the plan envisions forming a new governing body for Gaza without Hamas, deploying a multinational stabilization force, and disarming the group.

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