Armed US private security contractors will begin operating a checkpoint in Gaza in the coming days, Axios reported on Thursday, citing Israeli officials.
The report said the US contractors will be deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational group that’s been established by the Gaza ceasefire deal and is backed by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.
Initially, the deployment will involve two private American companies, Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, which employ US military veterans. The third company is an Egyptian firm that’s backed by Egyptian intelligence.
The contractors will operate a checkpoint at the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land just south of Gaza City where the Israeli military has demolished nearly every building in sight and established military bases.
As part of the hostage deal, Hamas wanted Palestinians forcibly displaced from northern Gaza to be able to pass freely through the corridor. Israel demanded that its forces must inspect every Palestinian that passes through, and the compromise was for private security firms to be involved.
A source told Axios that the purpose of the contractor deployment is to “ensure orderly vehicle movement while preventing the transport of weapons northward, in line with the ceasefire terms.”
In recent months, the Israeli military had worked to almost completely destroy the northern Gaza cities of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign known as the “general’s plan.” Elements of the Israeli government wanted the campaign to lead to the establishment of Jewish settlements and likely strongly oppose the return of Palestinians to the north.
The contractors are expected only to be in Gaza until the end of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which involves a 42-day truce. Israeli officials are threatening to restart the genocidal war after the first phase of the deal.
