KIRYAT GAT, ISRAEL — The military compound is located in southern Israel, just north of Gaza, in an area that U.S. officials had kept secret until this week, citing security concerns.

It’s an industrial building, full of concrete pillars with terrible acoustics and rooms carpeted with artificial turf.

From here, roughly 200 U.S. troops have been tasked with keeping a delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas intact. Working with American allies, their goal is to build out the international force the Trump administration envisions providing security to Gaza.

What this peacekeeping force will look like – and which countries participate – has not been announced. The United States expects Arab nations and volunteers outside the region such as Indonesia to put boots on the ground.

The United States is just beginning “to conceptualize” what the force will look like, Vice President JD Vance said from the compound after landing in Tel Aviv on Oct. 21 to help shore up the fledgling ceasefire.

“We're not going to force anything on our Israeli friends when it comes to foreign troops on their soil,” Vance said.

The vice president is one of several top Trump administration officials who came to Israel this week to hash out the next phase of the president’s 20-point peace plan. They are also mediating conflicts on the future of Gaza between Israel and countries with which it has strained relations or no diplomatic ties.

One of those nations is Turkey, which helped convince Hamas to sign on to President Donald Trump's ceasefire deal. Whether the nation provides troops to the stabilization force, or financial and communications support, is still under discussion.

No American boots on the ground

U.S. officials have stressed for days that American troops would be in supervisory roles and would not see combat or be stationed in Gaza – a point that Vance emphasized as he began his multiday visit to Israel.

“There are not going to be American boots on the ground in Gaza," Vance emphasized during a news conference. “What we can do is provide some useful coordination.”

As envisioned by Trump, the international force will train and support vetted Palestinian police and help block weapons from entering Gaza, with the eventual goal of replacing Israeli military forces that are currently stationed in the enclave.

Public executions

For the Trump plan to work, Hamas must lay down their arms and agree not to be involved in the governance of Gaza. But since the war with Israel was temporarily halted, Hamas has made no such commitment and has carried out public executions of its rivals.

A delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held as Vance joined Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Tel Aviv for the discussions. They met over lunch at Ben Gurion airport for two hours before attending briefings with military leaders.

Also on Vance's agenda is a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top Israeli officials.

Vance told reporters at the Oct. 21 news conference that the Israeli government had been “remarkably helpful” with getting the coordination center off the ground.

The vice president said he came to Israel to meet with U.S. troops stationed in Israel and to gain perspective on the conflict. He denied that accusations of ceasefire violations from Israel and Hamas had prompted his sudden trip.

"This is not the end," he said of the ceasefire. "We are in a very good place. We're going to have to keep working on it."

Francesca Chambers is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow her on X: @fran_chambers

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No boots on the ground: Vance spells out US role in Gaza's security on visit to Israel

Reporting by Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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