"Gaza internal checkpoint to be staffed by US private armed contractors"

A US security firm is hiring nearly 100 US special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce ...

UG Solutions, a low-profile company founded in 2023 and based in Davidson, North Carolina, is offering a daily rate starting at $1,100 with a $10,000 advance to veterans it hires, according to a recruitment email.

They will staff the checkpoint at a key intersection in Gaza’s interior, said the spokesperson, who confirmed the authenticity of the email.

Some people have been recruited and are already at the checkpoint, said the spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity. He did not say how many contractors were already in Gaza.

UG Solutions’ role in the ceasefire deal has been reported, but the email disclosed previously unknown details including the aim of recruiting 96 veterans exclusively with US special operations forces backgrounds, the pay and the types of weapons they will carry. Emirati officials had suggested the use of private contractors as part of a post-war peacekeeping force in Gaza, and that the idea had caused concern among Western nations.

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The rules of engagement governing when UG Solutions personnel can open fire have been finalized, the spokesperson said, but he declined to disclose them.

“We have the right to defend ourselves,” he said. He declined to discuss how the company won the contract.

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The official said the US contractors would be deployed away from residents passing through and they must not deal with the local population.

The UG Solutions email said its primary mission was “internal vehicle checkpoint management and vehicle inspection”.

The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to provide any further comment on the security arrangements. The US state department, Egypt’s foreign office and Hamas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. US use of private security firms has in the past led to disaster ...

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