Add a comment from a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Jerusalem

By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM, Nov 8 (Reuters) - An Israeli security official said on Saturday that U.S. forces are assisting Israel in overseeing and coordinating aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center will oversee the entry of aid into Gaza instead of Israel.

The newspaper quoted a US official and informed sources as saying that Israel is part of the process, but the Civil-Military Coordination Center will decide what aid enters Gaza and how it enters .

The Israeli security official said that the Israeli security services will continue to participate in policy-making, oversight and monitoring, with joint decision-making, and that the integration of the coordination committee is already underway.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Jerusalem told Reuters that the United States is "working diligently with Israel and partners in the region on the next phases of implementing the (President's) historic peace plan." This includes coordinating the immediate distribution of humanitarian aid and finalizing the details.

The spokesperson stated that the United States is pleased with "the increasing contributions from other donors and participating countries" in the Civil-Military Coordination Center to support humanitarian aid to Gaza.

* Little aid

Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas agreed a month ago to the first phase of the Trump plan. This phase halted the devastating two-year war in Gaza that erupted following a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2013.

Under the first phase, living Israeli hostages were released and the remains of others were handed over in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The coordination center began its work from southern Israel in late October, and its tasks include helping aid flow and achieving security stability in Gaza, according to the US Central Command.

The ceasefire was supposed to allow aid to flow into the small, densely populated enclave where famine was confirmed last August and almost all of its 2.3 million residents lost their homes.

However, humanitarian aid agencies said last week that very little aid was entering Gaza.

Israel says it is fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates that an average of 600 truckloads of supplies enter Gaza daily.

Reuters reported on October 23 that Washington was considering new proposals for delivering humanitarian aid.

The Israeli official said the United States would lead the coordination with the international community, while restrictions would remain in place on the list of NGOs that send aid and on the entry of so-called dual-use materials, which Israel considers to have both civilian and military uses.

(Prepared by Rehab Alaa for the Arabic Bulletin - Edited by Doaa Mohamed and Mohamed Ali Farag)