CENTCOM commander visits Israel to oversee implementation of Gaza ceasefire
The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said on Friday that the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Brad Cooper, will arrive in Israel in the next few days to oversee the launch of the mechanism for implementing the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation explained that Cooper will use a civilian facility near the Gaza Strip, likely in the southern city of Ashkelon, as his temporary headquarters to monitor field operations and ensure the parties’ compliance with the agreement’s understandings.
Cooper’s arrival comes as part of ongoing the US efforts to consolidate the truce and monitor the implementation of the field provisions of the agreement, which was reached through the mediation of Washington and a number of regional mediators.
The mission led by Cooper includes coordination with the Israeli army and the Egyptian and Qatari security agencies concerned with the ceasefire issue and the return of the bodies of the dead detainees from Gaza.
Israeli sources confirmed that Washington continues to pressure all parties to ensure the full implementation of the agreement’s provisions and avoid escalation on the ground. Cooper is expected to hold security meetings in Tel Aviv upon his arrival.
Since Monday, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli hostages, handed over the bodies of 10, and is preparing to hand over an additional body after its retrieved from the Gaza Strip on Friday evening.
These bodies are among 28, most of them Israeli, and Tel Aviv is awaiting the return of the remaining bodies.
While Israel accuses Hamas of failing to abide by the agreement by not handing over all the bodies, Hamas says it needs time to retrieve them because some were buried in tunnels destroyed by Israel, and others remain under the rubble of buildings it bombed and demolished.
On October 10, a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel went into effect.
The agreement was implemented in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s plan, which calls for a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, a mutual release of prisoners, the immediate entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, and the disarmament of Hamas.
