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Report: US warns Israel not to monitor American base in Israel used to track Gaza ceasefire

IDF denies accusations it is spying on US base established inside Israel to observe the Gaza ceasefire after US commander demands IDF stop monitoring the facility.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s military on Monday denied claims it is spying on American and allied forces operating inside Israeli territory as part of the mechanism to ensure compliance with the October ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A report by the Guardian claims that staffers assigned to the American-run Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel have raised concerns about Israeli officials recording operations inside the facility.

Established in October by the US Central Command to coordinate the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and to track ceasefire violations in the coastal enclave, the CMCC is located in the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 14 miles from the Gaza frontier.

While the US military refused to comment on the claims, the report said that the American commander of the CMCC, Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, had confronted an Israeli liaison officer over the issue, summoning him to a meeting during which he told the officer that the “recording has to stop here.”

The IDF responded with a statement denying that any espionage had taken place at the CMCC, adding that while the Israeli military “documents” meetings in which its representatives take part at the base, it is done with American consent.

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“The IDF documents and summarizes meetings in which it is present through protocols, as any professional organization of this nature does in a transparent and agreed-upon manner.”

“The claim that the IDF is gathering intelligence on its partners in meetings which the IDF is an active participant is absurd.”

Israel did not comment on Lt. Gen. Frank’s alleged comments to the Israeli liaison officer.

An American official cited in the report emphasized that the CMCC works in cooperation with Israel, with the IDF having final say on the flow of aid into Gaza.

“We didn’t take over [aid],” the official told The Guardian on condition of anonymity. “It is an integration. It is hand in glove. They remain the hand, and the CMCC have become the glove over that hand.”