American Drones Fly Over Gaza, Raising Questions

US Drones Fly Over Gaza, Raising Questions

Lebanon Today

U.S. military officials have reported that the U.S. military has begun operating reconnaissance drones over the Gaza Strip in recent days.
This measure comes as part of a broader effort to ensure that both Israel and Hamas adhere to the fragile ceasefire agreement.

The New York Times reported, citing U.S. and Israeli officials, that these drones are used to monitor the field situation inside Gaza with Israeli approval.
They indicated that these missions support the new civil-military coordination center established by the U.S. Central Command in southern Israel last week to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and oversee humanitarian and security coordination.

The officials explained that this center includes about 200 U.S. military personnel and aims to monitor compliance with the agreement and facilitate the flow of humanitarian and logistical aid from international parties to the sector.

According to the newspaper, this American move reflects Washington’s desire to have its independent view of what is happening on the ground inside Gaza, after relying for a long time on information provided by the Israeli army.

The newspaper added that the United States had used “MQ-9 Reaper” drones during the early stages of the war to support efforts to locate Israeli hostages and was sharing that information with the Israeli side.

This development follows US President Donald Trump’s visit to Israel last week, followed by the arrival of a number of senior US officials to the region to support the de-escalation process, including Vice President: “JD Vance” and Secretary of State: “Marco Rubio.”

On Friday, “Rubio” visited the new military coordination center in southern Israel, where he inspected the tasks of the American forces and affirmed the continued American role in monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire.

The newspaper quoted officials in the Trump administration as saying that there is a growing concern within the White House about the possibility of Israeli Prime Minister: “Benjamin Netanyahu” backing away from the agreement, especially in light of the ongoing political and military tensions.

Former US diplomat: “Daniel Shapiro,” who served as the US ambassador to Israel during the Barack Obama administration, commented: “This is a major intervention in an arena that Israel considers an active threat front.”

“If there was complete transparency and complete trust between Israel and the United States, there would be no need for this step, but it is clear that Washington wants to rule out any possibility of misunderstanding or manipulation of information,” Shapiro added.