The United States is planning to build a large military base in Israel’s Gaza border region, according to an exclusive report by Shomrim. Israeli officials familiar with the preliminary plans said the facility would be used by international forces operating in Gaza to help maintain the cease-fire and could accommodate several thousand soldiers.
They estimated the project’s budget at roughly $500 million. In recent weeks, U.S. officials have advanced the proposal in discussions with the Israeli government and the IDF and have begun surveying potential locations in the Gaza periphery.
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The U.S. Central Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat
(Photo: Fadel Senna)
Security sources told Shomrim that the move represents a major shift in U.S. engagement. “It’s hard to overstate the significance of building such a base,” one official said. “Since the Six-Day War, Israel has sought to minimize international involvement in the territories. 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.”
The massive investment could also spark political debate in the United States. Many members of the Republican Party oppose expanding America’s overseas military footprint, especially amid domestic budget pressures and voter fatigue with foreign interventions.
Until now, U.S. military presence in Israel has been limited. Following the signing of the cease-fire agreement, about 200 U.S. troops were deployed to Israel to operate from the U.S. Central Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat. During the war, the U.S. also deployed a THAAD missile defense battery, which played a role in intercepting Iranian missile attacks.
The planned base would mark a significant escalation of U.S. activity in Israel and comes amid moves that have already curtailed Israel’s operational autonomy in Gaza — particularly regarding the coordination of humanitarian aid deliveries. Israeli officials said the CMCC in Kiryat Gat is expected to take full control of humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, relegating Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to a marginal role.
That development was first reported by The Washington Post, which noted that the U.S. intends to streamline aid operations to prevent bottlenecks that Israel had used to pressure Hamas during negotiations.
“The CMCC in Kiryat Gat is set to oversee most of the activity in Gaza,” said Dr. Michael Milshtein, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center and former head of the IDF’s Palestinian Affairs Division. “Israel’s status as the central actor in Gaza is about to change.”
Shomrim reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Israel for comment on the report. The embassy referred the inquiry to the U.S. Department of Defense, which in turn directed questions to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). As of publication, CENTCOM had not responded.
If realized, the base would mark the first large-scale American military installation on Israeli territory, underscoring a deepening U.S. commitment to post-war stabilization efforts in Gaza — and potentially reshaping the regional balance of control over humanitarian and security operations.