The United States has appointed veteran diplomat Steve Fagin as the lead civilian representative to a U.S.-backed ceasefire monitoring center near the Gaza Strip, aimed at supporting efforts for a sustainable end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Steve Fagin © US Mission to Iraq
The United States has appointed veteran diplomat Steve Fagin as the lead civilian representative to a U.S.-backed ceasefire monitoring center near the Gaza Strip, aimed at supporting efforts for a sustainable end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that Fagin, who currently serves as U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, will join General Patrick Frank, the U.S. military lead, in managing operations at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC).
The CMCC was recently established in Kiryat Gat, a city located in southern Israel, approximately 25 kilometers from Gaza. Its mission is to monitor the ceasefire, detect violations, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza.
Around 200 American military personnel have been deployed to the facility, which operates from a rented warehouse. They are working alongside Israeli forces, European allies, Emirati and Jordanian representatives, as well as staff from the United Nations and humanitarian organizations.
Fagin brings experience from conflict zones, having served as chief U.S. diplomat in Baghdad until recently, while continuing his role as ambassador to Yemen, where he managed U.S. interests during a turbulent period that included airstrikes on Houthi rebels who launched missiles toward Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
His appointment underscores Washington’s growing emphasis on the implementation and supervision of the October 10 ceasefire, while seeking to mitigate humanitarian suffering and promote diplomatic stability in the region.
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that a new governance structure for Gaza -- made up of an international board and a group of Palestinian technocrats -- would be in place soon, followed by the deployment of foreign troops, as the U.S. hopes to cement a fragile ceasefire in Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave.
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