Australia will send a Defence Force officer to a new United States-led coordination centre in Israel as part of an international push to manage humanitarian and security challenges in the region after years of devastating conflict. Source: ABC News.
The Civil-Military Coordination Centre, run by US Central Command, is a key element of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza and aims to bring together partner nations to coordinate aid, security and reconstruction efforts.
Washington has invited several countries, including Australia, to take part.
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the federal Government confirmed it had agreed to contribute one liaison officer from the Australian Defence Force.
“Australia welcomes the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and agreement to President Trump’s peace plan,” the statement said.
“This peace plan brings a rare and important moment of hope after more than two years of immense suffering and devastation.”
A Defence spokesperson said the contribution was consistent with Australia’s broader commitment to global peacekeeping efforts, and the ABC understands the officer will be involved in planning and coordination work.
While the focus of Australia’s defence policy remains the Indo-Pacific, the spokesperson said Canberra would “always carefully consider opportunities to contribute to international peace and security”.
ADF Chief of Joint Operations, Justin Jones, last week confirmed he had joined a video call with the US Central Command to discuss the proposal.
“I’ve got a fair idea of what their intention is and what it might look like,” he said. “It’s not for me to get ahead of the Australian Government, though; it’s for government to determine how they wish to commit to any operations in Gaza,” Vice Admiral Jones said.
Liberal senator and former Australian ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, told Sky News on Wednesday that Australia had a long record of contributing to peacekeeping missions in the Middle East and should not shy away from helping Gaza recover.
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Australian official to join Trump-led Gaza peace taskforce (Olivia Caisley, ABC News)
