Five days after world leaders approved a US-brokered plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday opened a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel, which would serve as the main hub for stabilization efforts in Gaza.
According to a press release, the CMCC is designed to support stabilization efforts.
U.S. military personnel will not deploy to Gaza, with a focus on facilitating the flow of humanitarian, logistical and security assistance from international counterparts to Gaza.
VANCE WARNS HAMAS AS GAZA CIVIL MILITARY COOPERATION CENTER OPENS PEACE PLAN
Vice President J.D. Vance, center, and CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper, left, watch as U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks Tuesday after a military briefing at the Civil Military Coordination Center in southern Israel. (Nathan Howard/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
“Bringing together stakeholders who share the goal of successful stabilization in Gaza is essential to a peaceful transition,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a press release. “Over the next two weeks, U.S. personnel will integrate representatives from partner countries, non-governmental organizations, international institutions and the private sector as they arrive at the coordination center.”
The CMCC will also monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with an operations floor designed to monitor real-time developments in Gaza.
US military will oversee the next phase of the peace deal from its coordination base in Israel
A Palestinian man collects food from a humanitarian aid distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The offices and meeting rooms are designed to “promote collaboration among leaders, representatives and staff,” according to the press release.
About 200 U.S. military personnel with expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering founded the CMCC under the leadership of the U.S. Army’s central commander, Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank.
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Destroyed buildings in Gaza, seen from Israel. (Reuters)
“The team has worked tirelessly to build the CMCC from the ground up,” Cooper wrote in a statement. “They can take pride in knowing that they have built something that is critical to enabling the transition to civilian rule in Gaza.”
Due to the large tunnel network under Gaza City, tunnels will have to be filled to make the ground stable enough for construction.
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Hamas has not yet returned all 28 bodies of deceased hostages, delaying the start of the next phase.
Israel, which has reiterated its pledge to retrieve the remains of every hostage, this week received the bodies of seven identified hostages, along with one Palestinian who was wrongly included among them.
