The United States today appointed an experienced diplomat as the civilian head of a body tasked with overseeing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which is intended to facilitate achieving a lasting end to the conflict.
The State Department announced that diplomat Steve Fagan is joining General Patrick Frank, the body's military official who was previously appointed to work on implementing the ceasefire in effect since October 10 between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.
The Civil-Military Coordination Center, a body that will oversee the US-led ceasefire, was established this Sunday in Kiryat Gat, in southwestern Israel, and is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and registering any violations.
The center is also supposed to oversee the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip.
About 200 American soldiers have been sent to Kiryat Gat, where they will work with soldiers from Israel and European countries, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, as well as UN personnel and humanitarian organizations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the center near Gaza today, calling the effort "historic."
"There have been ups and downs, various twists and turns, but I think we have a lot of reason to be reasonably optimistic about the progress that has been made," Rubio said.
Fagan has been the US ambassador to Yemen since 2022, where he managed relations during a turbulent period when the US bombed Yemeni Houthi rebels who were firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
He was also the top US diplomat in Baghdad for three months until recently, while still serving as ambassador to Yemen, a position for which he is mostly based in Saudi Arabia.
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