The history of the United Nations peacekeepers goes back to 1948 when 36 unarmed military observers went to supervise the Arab-Israeli war. Since then, it has grown enormously for the cause of world peace, tranquillity and the larger benefit of humanity. The UN peacekeepers initiated as a task force working to ease the tension and prepare grounds for negotiated settlements, maintaining their impartial presence. There are 62,289 Military personnel and civilian police serving in 16 current peacekeeping operations as of 30 September 2004.