Rubio tours the US-led center in Israel overseeing the Gaza ceasefire

KIRYAT GAT, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday toured a U.S.-led center in Israel to oversee a ceasefire in Gaza, as the Trump administration worked to establish an international security force in the region and shore up the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas.

Rubio was the latest in a series of senior US officials to visit the Civil-Military Coordination Center. US Vice President J.D. Vance was there earlier this week where he announced the opening of the center, and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, were also in Israel.

Read more: Vance criticizes the Israeli parliament’s vote to annex the West Bank, and says the move was an “insult.”

About 200 American soldiers work side by side with the Israeli army and delegations from other countries at the center, planning for stabilization and reconstruction in Gaza. On Friday, an Associated Press reporter saw international staff there carrying the flags of Cyprus, Greece, France, Germany, Australia and Canada.

“I think we have a lot to be proud of in the first 10, 11 days, 12 days of implementation, as we faced real challenges along the way,” Rubio said.

The US Ambassador to Yemen, Stephen Fagin, was appointed to lead the civilian side of the coordination center in southern Israel. The top military official at the center is Admiral Brad Cooper of the US Central Command.

Upbeat tone

The United States is seeking support from other allies, especially the Gulf Arab states, to form an international stabilization force to be deployed in Gaza and train a Palestinian force.

Rubio said US officials are drafting possible language to seek UN or other international authorization for force in Gaza because many potential participants would need authorization before they can participate. He said that many countries have expressed interest, and decisions must be made on the rules of engagement.

Such states need to know what they are signing up for, he said, including “what is their mandate, what is their leadership, under what authority will they operate, who will be responsible for them, and what will their function be?” He also said that Israel needs to be comfortable with the participating countries.

Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. The Israeli media referred to the procession of American officials visiting their country as “Jalset Bibi.” The term, which uses Netanyahu’s nickname “Bibi,” refers to an old campaign ad when Netanyahu presented himself as “Bibi’s babysitter” whom voters could trust with their children.

Rebuilding in the ruins

In Gaza City, Palestinians trying to rebuild their lives returned to their homes amid the rubble.
Families are searching for shelter, gathering materials to sleep on without blankets or kitchen utensils.

“I can’t find anywhere else but here. I’m sitting in front of my house, where can I go? In front of the rubble, every day I look at my house and feel sad for it, but what can I do?” Kamal Al-Yaziji said as he lit sponges to cook coffee in Gaza City.

His three-storey house, which previously housed 13 people, was destroyed, forcing his family to live in a makeshift tent. He said they were plagued by mosquitoes and wild dogs and could barely buy food because their banknotes were so worn out that shopkeepers would not accept them.

Rubio said on Friday that a group of up to 10 groups would participate in the Gaza relief effort, including from the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations. But he said there would be no role for the United Nations aid agency in Gaza, known as UNRWA.

“The United Nations is here, it is on the ground, and we are ready to work with them if they can make it work,” Rubio said. “But not UNRWA. UNRWA has become affiliated with Hamas.”

Earlier this week, the International Court of Justice said Israel must allow UNRWA to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.

Israel has not allowed UNRWA to enter its supplies since March. But the agency continues to work in Gaza, running health centres, mobile medical teams, sanitation services and school classrooms for children. She says she has 6,000 truckloads of supplies waiting to get in.

The agency has faced criticism from Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who say the movement is deeply infiltrated by Hamas.

The honorable people reported from Deir al-Balah.