US firm focused on hiring special forces veterans for Gaza checkpoint security: Report
New details revealed by the Reuters news agency shows that US-based security firm UG Solutions is specifically targeting the recruitment of US special forces veterans to work as armed security guards at the Netzarim Corridor checkpoint, located just south of Gaza City.
The company is currently attempting to hire nearly 100 special forces veterans, with some already on the ground in Gaza, Reuters reports. US contractors will be paid a daily rate starting at $1,100, with a $10,000 advance, and will be armed with M4 assault rifles and Glock pistols.
A spokesperson for UG Solutions – a low-profile company founded in 2023 and based in Davidson, North Carolina – said the rules of engagement governing when security contractors can open fire have been finalised, but he declined the disclose details.
“We have the right to defend ourselves,” the spokesperson said.
Israel demanded the presence of private security contractors to work with an Egyptian security firm to maintain checkpoints within Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
A private security contractor at the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza on January 28
Fewer than 8,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since ceasefire: Sources
Sources have told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that the number of trucks that entered the Gaza Strip during 11 days of the ceasefire stands at 7,926.
About two-thirds of the trucks carried food supplies, they said, adding that the amount of tents (208) and medical supplies brought to the enclave are much lower than needed.
The sources also said the entry of 197 fuel trucks into the Strip does not benefit the civil defence, municipalities or electricity companies.
No heavy machinery or equipment has been brought into Gaza to remove rubble and search for bodies, and no building materials have been brought in for restoration and rehabilitation, according to the sources.
Palestinian fisherman killed off Gaza’s coast
Israeli gunboats have shot and killed a Palestinian fisherman in Gaza’s coastal waters, near the Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre of the enclave, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
Israeli forces have repeatedly fired at Palestinians, including fishermen, in recent weeks despite the ongoing ceasefire.
Essay Pro