IsraelReports: Private US security forces deployed in Gaza
SDA
24.1.2025 - 01:01
ARCHIVE - A tent camp for displaced Palestinians is set up amidst destroyed buildings in the refugee camp of Chan Junis in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP/dpa
Keystone
According to media reports, private security forces from the USA are to be deployed in the Gaza Strip.
Keystone-SDA
24.01.2025, 01:01
SDA
They are to check the vehicles of displaced Palestinians returning from the south of the coastal strip to their original homes in the destroyed north for weapons, as the New York Times reported, citing several government officials. The news portal "Axios" also reported on the planned operation, which is due to start in the coming days. It is part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamist Hamas brokered by the USA, Egypt and Qatar.
According to reports, the security companies will control the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip into two halves south of Gaza City. It was previously controlled by Israeli soldiers for months to prevent Palestinians from returning to the evacuated areas in the north.
In the agreement, which came into force on Sunday, it was agreed that Palestinians displaced in the south would be able to return on the seventh day after the ceasefire came into force. "Axios" reported that Israel had demanded during the negotiations that the returnees be checked, which Hamas had rejected.
As a compromise, it was agreed that vehicles would only be allowed to drive north on one road and that the checkpoint would be operated by independent actors. According to Axios, three security companies are involved in the checks, two from the USA and another from Egypt. People making their way north on foot will not be checked, the New York Times reported.