US security contractors head to Gaza to oversee Netzarim corridor: Reports

Private US security contractors from two companies will be headed to Gaza in the coming days, according to several media reports, where they will deploy armed guards in the Palestinian enclave to oversee the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes in the north.

The New York Times and Axios both reported on Thursday that the contractors are being sent to Gaza to screen Palestinians travelling from southern Gaza to the north to return to their homes.

The private security contractors would likely be deployed to the Netzarim corridor, a narrow strip that cuts through central Gaza and was created in recent months by Israeli forces to monitor Palestinians.

It stretches from the Israeli boundary with Gaza City to the Mediterranean Sea. According to the ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces are to withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, and this is where the private security contractors would fill the gap.

The armed guards will check vehicles carrying Palestinians from south to north for weapons.

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