U.S. Plans to Establish a Military Base Near Gaza at a Cost of Half a Billion Dollars

In a revealing report by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, it was disclosed that the United States is preparing to construct a new military base near the Gaza Strip, designed to accommodate several thousand soldiers under the pretext of maintaining the ceasefire. The move, while framed as a stabilising measure, signals Washington’s growing military and political entrenchment in the heart of the Palestinian struggle.

According to the report, American officials have been actively advancing discussions with both the Israeli government and military in recent weeks, even beginning on-site evaluations of potential locations for the base. This initiative, sources say, demonstrates the United States’ “determination to be directly involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,” an involvement that historically has never been neutral, but consistently aligned with Israel’s occupation policies.

The proposed base will ostensibly serve as headquarters for international forces deployed in Gaza under the banner of safeguarding the ceasefire. It will be equipped to host thousands of troops, with an estimated construction cost of around 500 million US dollars. Israeli defence analysts cited by the newspaper describe the project as “strategically significant,” suggesting it could redefine the nature of American involvement in the region.

Since the 1967 Six-Day War—known to Arabs as the Naksa (Setback)—Israel has persistently opposed any international presence or intervention in occupied Palestinian territories. The establishment of an American military installation on or near these lands thus represents a profound shift, reflecting Washington’s resolve to embed itself physically within the geography of the conflict.

The report also notes potential domestic repercussions within the United States itself, particularly as many members of the Republican Party have voiced strong opposition to expanding America’s overseas military footprint. Investing half a billion dollars in a foreign base, at a time when domestic priorities remain contested, could ignite a new debate in Washington about the costs and motives of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Until now, the American military presence in Israel has been relatively limited. Following the recent ceasefire agreement, Washington deployed roughly 200 personnel to operate from the Combined Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat. Earlier during the war, the United States also installed a THAAD missile defence battery in Israel, which played a role in intercepting Iranian rockets—a move that further blurred the lines between “defensive assistance” and direct military participation.

The new base would add to a series of American actions that have already begun constraining Israel’s operational freedom in Gaza, particularly in relation to humanitarian aid. For months, Tel Aviv has weaponised the entry of food, water, and medical supplies as a tool of pressure against the besieged enclave. According to Israeli sources quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth, the U.S. command centre in Kiryat Gat is now expected to assume full control over the coordination and distribution of humanitarian relief, leaving Israel with only a marginal administrative role through its Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

The Washington Post had previously reported that the United States would be taking over the management of humanitarian aid to Gaza—effectively sidelining Israel from a process it has long manipulated for political leverage.

What emerges from these developments is not merely a military expansion, but a deeper shift in the architecture of power surrounding Gaza. The planned American base, cloaked in the rhetoric of “stability” and “humanitarian oversight,” may well signify a new phase of foreign presence on Palestinian soil—one that risks entrenching, rather than resolving, the realities of occupation.