US forces working with Israel on Gaza aid
US forces are involved in supervising and coordinating aid transfers to the Gaza Strip with Israel under President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) will replace Israel in overseeing aid to Gaza.
A US official and people familiar with the matter said Israel is part of the process, but the CMCC will decide what aid will enter Gaza and how.
The Israeli security official said that through joint decisions, Israeli security services continue to be part of policy, control and monitoring, and the integration of the CMCC is already underway.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Jerusalem told Reuters that the US was “working hard with Israel and regional partners” on the next stages of implementing the president’s “historic peace plan”. This includes coordinating the emergency distribution of humanitarian aid and working out the details.
The spokesman said the United States is pleased with the “increased contributions of other donors and participating countries” to the CMCC to support humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas reached an agreement on the first phase of the peace plan presented by Trump a month ago. It paused the devastating two-year war in Gaza, triggered by a cross-border offensive by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, and secured a deal to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
CMCC began operating in southern Israel in late October to assist the flow of aid and stabilize security in Gaza, according to U.S. Central Command.
Although the ceasefire is intended to send a flood of aid to the small, populous region where famine was confirmed in August and nearly all 2.3 million residents lost their homes, humanitarian organizations said last week that little aid had reached Gaza.
Israel says it is fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates sending an average of 600 trucks of supplies to Gaza per day. Reuters reported on October 23 that Washington was considering new offers to distribute humanitarian aid.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the number of people killed there since the start of the war had risen to 69,169. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical experts, keeps detailed records that are generally considered reliable by independent experts.
The ministry said 284 people were added to the total number after their identities were verified between October 31 and November 7.
The latest increase in deaths comes as more bodies have been recovered from rubble in the devastated Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began on October 10, and previously unidentified bodies have been identified. The figure also includes Palestinians killed in attacks that Israel says target remaining militants since the ceasefire came into effect.
Israel returned the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, according to hospital officials in the area; a day after militants returned the remains of a hostage to Israel. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, this person was identified as Lior Rudaeff. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Rudaeff was born in Argentina.
The exchanges form the central part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which requires Hamas to return all hostage remains as soon as possible. Families and supporters gathered again in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to welcome everyone back.
The ministry said 10 bodies had been brought to Gaza hospitals in the last three days, nine of which had been pulled from under the rubble and one had just been killed. It was stated that 241 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began.
The ceasefire aims to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and a Palestinian militant group. This began on October 7, 2023, with a Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
with AP
