The European rethink, which has not been previously reported, is the latest sign of unease among Washington\u2019s allies as Trump pursues unorthodox foreign policies toward Gaza, Greenland, and Venezuela.<\/p>\n
\t Some European governments were now considering whether to reduce their CMCC presence or even to stop sending personnel altogether, the diplomats said. The diplomats declined to say which governments were reassessing their position.<\/p>\n The White House and US State Department did not respond to requests for comment on this story.<\/p>\n \u2018Board of Peace\u2019<\/p>\n The CMCC is run by a US general and also hosts both American and Israeli military personnel. Its establishment was a key element of the first phase of Trump\u2019s ceasefire plan, which has been tested by alleged repeated Hamas violations of the agreement, including attempts to approach troops stationed on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line in Gaza, and Israeli airstrikes in response.<\/p>\n As Trump pursues the next phase of his plan, including setting up a \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d to supervise Gaza policy, it is unclear whether the CMCC will retain any influence over policy formation or aid distribution.<\/p>\n The diplomats said it was also not known how the CMCC would work with the Board of Peace\u2019s Gaza-focused bodies, including its committee of Palestinian technocrats.<\/p>\n Washington last week announced<\/a> Trump\u2019s plan had moved to its second phase, which would include demilitarization and reconstruction. But there was no mention of further Israeli military withdrawals, beyond a partial pullback in October that has left 53 percent of Gaza still in Israeli hands.<\/p>\n In November, Reuters reported that US partners were concerned that Gaza could be effectively partitioned as efforts to advance Trump\u2019s plan beyond the ceasefire stalled.<\/p>\n There was also no mention in Trump\u2019s second phase announcement of the expected deployment of a multinational stabilization force into the enclave.<\/p>\n \t Gaza\u2019s Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt has yet to reopen, although this was supposed to have happened during the plan\u2019s first phase that took effect in October.<\/p>\n Israel has argued that it shouldn\u2019t reopen Rafah in both directions before Hamas agrees to disarm and return the body of the final Israeli hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, which it was meant to do in the first phase.<\/p>\n The diplomats said there had been no significant increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza since the truce took hold, contradicting White House assertions, despite widespread homelessness and malnutrition.<\/p>\n Many trucks entering Gaza were in fact carrying commercial goods, they said, and Israel remained effectively in control of Gaza\u2019s aid policy, despite the US-led CMCC being tasked with helping boost relief supplies into the enclave.<\/p>\n Israel bans or restricts supplies from entering Gaza on the grounds that they are \u201cdual-use,\u201d or could be repurposed for military as well as humanitarian purposes. The diplomats said Israel has so far made no concessions on dual-use items, which include metal poles for tents to house the largely displaced population.<\/p>\n Israel defends policy on access to Gaza<\/p>\n An official at COGAT, the Israeli government agency that coordinates civilian policy in Gaza, said that 45% of all trucks that have entered Gaza since the October ceasefire were commercial vehicles transporting food and other everyday goods.<\/p>\n The official said humanitarian trucks were prioritized and that commercial shipments supplemented the aid effort. If additional humanitarian trucks were available, they would be allowed to enter Gaza, the official said.<\/p>\n \t The COGAT official acknowledged that Israel continues to restrict dual-use items, but said alternatives are being sourced, such as tent poles made of wood.<\/p>\n Beyond humanitarian aid, the eight diplomats said, CMCC personnel had drafted a number of \u201cwhite papers\u201d on Gaza on a range of topics, including reconstruction and governance, but it was unclear if they would be implemented.<\/p>\n It is unlikely that countries would formally leave the CMCC, in part out of fear of drawing Trump\u2019s ire but also out of a desire to be able to ramp up their involvement in the center if it gains relevance, the diplomats said.<\/p>\n There is also a concern that quitting the CMCC could give Israel greater influence over policies for postwar Gaza, they said. There are no Palestinians at the CMCC, and a European presence could help put more emphasis on Palestinian interests.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s 20-point peace plan provides no timeline or mechanism for implementation, and since the ceasefire started in October, more than 460 Palestinians have been killed in fighting, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.<\/p>\n Three IDF soldiers have been killed during the same period.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tPersonnel work at the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in the southern town of Kiryat Gat, on November 19, 2025. (Ahikam Seri \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20251015__78UF963__v2__HighRes__EgyptPalestinianIsraelConflictAid-e1767215863507-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tTrucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Border Crossing wait to cross into the Gaza Strip, early on October 15, 2025. (AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260117__932Z93W__v1__HighRes__PalestinianIsraelConflictDisplaced-e1768915172692-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tDisplaced Palestinians live amongst the rubble and debris, in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip on January 17, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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