The United States is flying surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip to monitor the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Israeli and US military officials told The New York Times in a report published on Friday.
The drone operation is being carried out with Israel’s consent and is being used to monitor ground activity in the area, according to one US defense official and two IDF officials.
The officials were not able to share the drones’ flight paths, but added that the surveillance is being carried out to support a Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, which includes about 200 US military personnel, the NYT added. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured the center on Friday.
Not the first time US military flew drones in Gaza
The US military had previously flown drones, specifically MQ-9 Reaper drones, in the Gaza Strip to assist Israeli forces in locating hostages, the report added.
The NYT had also cited several officials from the Trump administration, who spoke to the US newspaper on condition of anonymity and said there was concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would vacate the ceasefire and hostage deal.
Former US ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, stated that the surveillance drones in Gaza are “a very intrusive version of US monitoring on a front where Israel perceives an active threat.” NYT quoted him as saying, “If there was total transparency and total trust between Israel and the US, there wouldn’t be a need for this, but obviously the US wants to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding.”