The United States will deploy up to 200 troops to Israel to establish a task force to support stabilisation efforts in Gaza, but no Americans are expected to be deployed into the Palestinian enclave, Reuters reports US officials as saying.

The US military’s Central Command will stand up the task force, known as the Civil-Military Coordination Centre, or CMCC, one of the officials said.

The CMCC’s job will be to facilitate the flow of assistance into Gaza, including security assistance and humanitarian aid, officials said.

Two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US troops would be the core of the CMCC, but it would also include representatives from Egypt’s military, Qatar, Turkey and probably the United Arab Emirates.

“No US troops are intended to go into Gaza,” said one of the officials.