The Gaza Ceasefire That Isn't: How Washington Enables a Low-Intensity War

The October agreement lacked an independent monitoring body or credible penalties for violations, leaving enforcement to the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat. Staffed by 200 US troops under Admiral Brad Cooper, the center acts as both referee and guarantor for a party that has reportedly surveilled its own American overseers. Without a neutral arbiter, Israel continues to frame every offensive as a response to imminent threats, while Washington facilitates the process through a steady stream of munitions and consistent protection at the United Nations Security Council.

The Mechanics of Collusion

Since October 2023, the US has transferred over $36 billion in arms to Israel, effectively rendering the Leahy Law—which prohibits aid to forces implicated in human rights abuses—a dead letter. Political initiatives, such as Congressman Sean Casten’s Ceasefire Compliance Act, have been stifled, signaling to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that military and diplomatic support remains unconditional. This posture allows the US to maintain the appearance of a peacemaker while the underlying military campaign persists at a lower, more politically palatable intensity. Analysts at the Arab Center in Washington characterize this not as mediation, but as a mechanism that allows the war to grind on by other means. Real change would require an independent UN-mandated monitoring force and strict, automatic conditionality on weapons transfers—measures that remain absent from the current diplomatic framework.