The US State Department on Friday appointed a career foreign service officer and the current ambassador to Yemen, Steven Fagin, as the civilian lead for a new center working to implement a peace deal in Gaza and get humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, the department said in a statement.
The announcement came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel, and pledged that more US diplomats would be joining the roughly 200 US military personnel posted there.
"Ambassador Steven Fagin will serve as the civilian lead of the Civil-Military Coordination Center, which is supporting the implementation of the President's 20 Point Peace Plan for Gaza," the department said.
The center was opened on October 17 by the US Central Command, with Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, commander of US Army Central, appointed as its military lead.
The Civil-Military Coordination Centre was set up in southern Israelto observe the ceasefire for any violations and handle logistics including aid delivery into war-ravaged Gaza.
Some 200 US troops were sent to the centre, set up in a rented warehouse, where they work with soldiers from Israel and European countries, representatives of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and personnel from the United Nations and aid groups.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the site, which is a short drive from Gaza, on Friday and called it a "historic" undertaking.
"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," Rubio said.
Fagin has served as US ambassador to Yemen since 2022, although he has performed the role from outside the country, which is controlled by the Houthi government not recognised by Washington.
Steven Fagin