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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a visit to Israel that the State Department would increase its presence at a center set up to monitor the peace deal.
Oct. 24, 2025, 7:32 a.m. ET
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that a growing number of diplomats would work with American military officers at a new center in Israel aimed at monitoring the cease-fire in Gaza, as the Trump administration maintains pressure on Israel to stick to the deal.
Mr. Rubio made the remarks while touring the new facility, the Civil-Military Coordination Center, on Friday in Kiryat Gat, in southern Israel. It was the second visit by top administration officials to the center this week.
“There’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns, but I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress that’s being made,” he said.
Senior U.S. officials have been coming through Israel in a steady stream to indicate the importance of the cease-fire to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Trump and his aides remain concerned that the Israeli leader could dismantle the agreement.
The two-week-old truce has paused Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and destroyed most of the territory. The war was ignited by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The cease-fire has been tenuous, with occasional violence. Hamas has released 20 living hostages and the bodies of 15 deceased captives, and Israel has freed nearly 2,000 imprisoned Palestinians.
