Gaza checkpoint to be staffed by scores of armed American contractors

Washington: A small US security firm is hiring nearly 100 US special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, according to a company spokesperson and a recruitment email seen by Reuters, introducing armed American contractors into the heart of one of the world's most violent conflict zones.

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, the email said.

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. Reuters reported on Jan. 7 that 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.

The deployment of armed US contractors in Gaza, where Hamas remains a potent force after 14 months of war, is unprecedented and poses the risk that Americans could be drawn into fighting as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to keep the Hamas-Israel conflict from reigniting.

Among the risks facing the Americans are gunfights with Islamist militants or Palestinians angry over Washington's support for Israel's Gaza offensive.

"Of course there is a threat they will face," said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official.

The document said the contractors will be armed with M4 rifles, which are used by the Israeli and U.S. militaries, and Glock pistols.

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.

Egypt's role

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel on Tuesday told reporters, without naming UG Solutions or the United States, that Israel had demanded that the deal include the use of a private security firm, working with "an Egyptian security company or forces" to help maintain security and humanitarian aid flows in Gaza.

But, she said, it remained to be seen if the arrangement "actually works." Earlier rounds of ceasefire negotiations were held up by an Israeli demand to staff the checkpoint with its own troops. Witnesses in Gaza have in recent days described Egyptian security personnel at the checkpoint using scanners to look for weapons concealed in vehicles.

An Egyptian source said the Egyptians at the checkpoint were special forces trained in recent months including on counter terrorism.

A Palestinian official close to the talks confirmed US contractors would also be at the checkpoint, at the intersection of the Netzarim Corridor dividing northern and southern Gaza and Salah al-Din Street, which separates the east and west of the enclave.

However, the official said that under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. 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."

"We're only focused on vehicles," said the spokesperson.

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. U.S. use of private security firms has in the past led to disaster. In 2007, contractors for the now defunct Blackwater firm shot dead 14 civilians in Baghdad's Al Nisour Square, igniting a diplomatic crisis and outraging Iraqis. Four Blackwater personnel were convicted in a US court and pardoned by Trump in his first term. Insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 killed four Americans working for Blackwater and hung two of their bodies from a bridge, prompting a massive US military response.

The UG Solutions' hires will work with US-based Safe Reach Solutions, which does logistics and planning, according to the spokesperson and another source familiar with the contract.

Each hire will be provided with $500,000 in accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and the daily rate for former US special forces medics rises to $1,250, the email said.

A separate source familiar with the deal said Israel and unnamed "Arab countries" that worked on the agreement are funding the consortium. The US government had no direct involvement in the decision to include a security company in the ceasefire deal or in the awarding of the contract, the source said.

Victory narrative

Ahmed Fuad Alkhatib, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank who was born in Gaza, downplayed the danger for the Americans because their role in the return of displaced Palestinian civilians bolsters Hamas' claim of victory over Israel.

"Even Hamas, for all its horrendous rhetoric and actions, understands that it is this very American presence … that feeds its victory narrative," he said.

Gaza has been devastated by Israeli bombardments during 15 months of war that began after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas assault into Israel that killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage, according to an Israeli toll.

Almost 47,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.

Jan. 19 marked the start of a 60-day ceasefire: the first phase of the deal mediated by Egypt and Qatar with US support. Since then, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been streaming on foot and in vehicles through the checkpoint north toward Gaza City, much of it churned to rubble by Israeli bombardments.

Who-G?

Several people in the private security industry told Reuters that they had not heard of UG Solutions.

The only company official listed in Virginia state incorporation records is Jameson Govani, who didn't respond to phone messages. He is described as a US Special Forces veteran.

A US private security business source briefed on the UG Solutions contract, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it seemed hazardous to deploy Americans in Gaza and that he feared combat could break out "really fast".

It was unclear what would happen if the Americans were attacked or captured, or which nation's law would govern the contractor's actions.

The email does not say who would rescue them. The UG spokesperson said the document was outdated and that quick reaction forces would be available. He didn't provide further details.

"We are well equipped to guard our own safety," he said.