US Flies Drones Over Gaza to Monitor Ceasefire

U.S. military drones are flying over the Gaza Strip with Israel’s consent to monitor compliance with the fragile Israel–Hamas ceasefire, U.S. and Israeli officials said. The flights operate in support of a newly established U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel run by U.S. Central Command to oversee the truce and facilitate humanitarian, logistical and security assistance without deploying U.S. personnel into Gaza. Officials say the missions are intended to give Washington an independent picture of conditions separate from Israeli intelligence; exact flight paths were not disclosed and some personnel spoke anonymously. Additional partner countries have sent representatives to the CMCC to help monitor the ceasefire, which was brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt and remains strained by recent violence and disputes over exchanges of bodies. The U.S. has previously flown drones over Gaza to search for hostages, and the presence of U.S. surveillance has been described by some as “very intrusive.”