NYT: US military deploys surveillance drones over Gaza to monitor ceasefire

The US military has begun operating surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip in recent days as part of efforts to ensure both Israel and Hamas adhere to a fragile cease-fire agreement, Israeli and American military officials told The New York Times.

The drones are being used to monitor ground activity in Gaza, with the consent of Israel, according to two Israeli military officials and a US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. The officials said they could not disclose the drones’ flight paths.

These surveillance missions are supporting a newly established Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel. The center, set up last week by the US military’s Central Command, is partly tasked with monitoring the cease-fire.

A former American diplomat and defence official, like some Israeli officials, expressed surprise at the US surveillance operations, given the close military ties between the two countries.

“This is a very intrusive version of US monitoring on a front where Israel perceives an active threat,” said Daniel B. Shapiro, who served as US ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama and as a special envoy to Israel on Iran under President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

“If there was total transparency and total trust between Israel and the US, there wouldn’t be a need for this,” Mr. Shapiro added. “But obviously the US wants to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding.”

By Sabina Mammadli