US forces working with Israel on Gaza aid, Israeli official says

U.S. forces are taking part in overseeing and coordinating aid transfers into the Gaza Strip together with Israel as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan, an Israeli security official said on Saturday.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) will replace Israel in overseeing aid into Gaza. It cited a U.S. official and people familiar with the matter as saying Israel was part of the process but that CMCC would decide what aid enters Gaza and how.

The Israeli security official said that Israeli security services remain part of policy, supervision and monitoring with decisions made jointly, and that the integration of the CMCC was already underway.

A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem told Reuters that the U.S. was "working hard, in tandem with Israel and regional partners, on the next phases of implementing" the president's "historic peace plan". That includes coordinating the immediate distribution of humanitarian assistance and working through details.

The U.S. is pleased by the "growing contributions of other donors and participating countries" in the CMCC to support humanitarian aid to Gaza, the spokesperson said.

TOO LITTLE AID GETTING IN

Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed a month ago to a first phase of a peace plan presented by Trump. It paused a devastating two-year war in Gaza triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, and secured a deal to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

The CMCC began operating from southern Israel in late October, tasked with helping aid flow and stabilizing security in Gaza, according to the U.S. Central Command.

While the truce was meant to unleash a torrent of aid across the tiny, crowded enclave where famine was confirmed in August and where almost all the 2.3 million inhabitants have lost their homes, humanitarian agencies said last week that far too little aid is reaching Gaza.

Israel says it is fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, which calls for an average of 600 trucks of supplies into Gaza per day. Reuters reported on October 23 that Washington is considering new proposals for humanitarian aid delivery.

The Israeli official said that the United States will lead coordination with the international community, with restrictions still in place on the list of non-governmental organisations supplying aid and the entry of so-called dual-use items, which Israel considers to have both civilian and military use.