The question of a «day after» plan in the Gaza Strip has plagued negotiations between Israel, the U.S., Arab nations and Hamas for months and has ultimately led to the terrorist network’s refusal to release the 55 hostages still held there. 

However, foreign policy leaders and security experts based in Washington may have the key that could provide a solution to help rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip where others cannot: private security contractors (PSC).

PSCs, which have heavy experience in the Middle East and decades of lessons learned to draw from, could be used as non-state actors to provide stability and a path forward for the Palestinians, but they would have to start with humanitarian aid, John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital.

ISRAEL OBJECTS TO FOREIGN NATIONS SANCTIONING ITS OFFICIALS

In a plan hatched out following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, a group of eight members with JINSA and the Vandenberg Coalition comprised a report that detailed how the handling of humanitarian aid could completely change security in the region. 

The plan, in part, initially looked similar to the mechanism known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by the U.S. and Israel, and which launched last month to distribute aid to Palestinians. 

However, the plan comprised by Hannah and the team took it a step further and argued that these aid actors should also be involved in rebuilding Gaza.

«We thought humanitarian issues was the best way [forward],» Hannah said. «It was the common denominator that would allow all of the major stakeholders that want to get to a better ‘day after’ – Israel, the United States, the key pragmatic Arab states – they all could agree that we can’t agree on a political vision for Palestine 10 years from now, and the issue of a Palestinian state, but we can all agree on this apple pie and motherhood issue that we don’t want to see starving, suffering Palestinians.»

Hamas terrorists emerge in a show of strength, escorting Red Cross vehicles carrying three Israeli hostages to be released as part of the ceasefire deal. (TPS-IL)

The Israel Defense Forces had already detailed the need to eliminate Hamas following the deadliest-ever attack on Israel, but the group of eight experts also identified that aid, long used by Hamas to maintain power by using it to incentivize support and recruitment, and to punish opposition, needed to be the key to cementing actual change. 

«We needed a solution on humanitarian aid,» Hannah said. «And when we looked around the world, who could do this, take over the humanitarian aid? We were left with one option.»

Displaced Palestinians line up pans to collect hot food from a charity food distribution center in Gaza City, northern Gaza, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

ISRAEL’S NAVY HITS HOUTHIS IN YEMEN IN ‘UNIQUE’ STRIKE AFTER TRUMP PROMISES END TO US OPS

«We didn’t think it should be the Israel Defense Forces. Israel lacks legitimacy with the Palestinian population, and frankly, it had its hands full doing the military job of defeating Hamas,» he added.  «American forces weren’t going to do it. We didn’t think Arab forces would step up and do this. And the U.N. system as it existed under UNRWA was illegitimate in the eyes of Israel.»

The group not only briefed the Biden and Netanyahu administrations on the proposal, but held numerous discussions with Israeli officials in 2024 on how such a plan could work. 

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero – who served as deputy chief of staff, Strategic Operations for Multinational Forces-Iraq for 2007-2008 and who was tasked by Gen. David Petraeus to create a system of accountability over PSCs in Iraq following the Blackwater incident in September 2007 known as the Nisour Square massacre – also briefed Israeli officials on how a PSC mechanism could work in the Gaza Strip.

Progress on the proposal appeared to stall by summer last year as then-President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were at increasing loggerheads over humanitarian concerns and mounting civilian Palestinian death tolls. 

However, Hannah questioned whether the seed had been planted with Israel by the time the Trump administration re-entered office, enabling the GHF to come in and start distributing aid. 

The GHF, though it has distributed over 16 million meals since it began operations in late May, saw a chaotic start with starving Palestinians rushing certain sites and reports of violence unfolding. 

A truck loaded with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip makes its way to the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

THERE’S A WAY TO AID GAZA. I KNOW, MY FOUNDATION JUST HELPED DELIVER 7 MILLION MEALS… WITHOUT INCIDENT

Though the reports of the level of chaos have reportedly been exaggerated by Hamas – which ultimately would benefit from the GHF’s failure as experts have explained – the group initially drew some criticism over transparency concerns, though the group has been looking to remedy this with regal updates.

The group, which saw its third leadership in as many weeks earlier this month, told Fox News Digital that despite some frustration among world leaders and aid groups, its goal is to work with major organizations like the United Nations and others to better distribute aid across Gaza where those programs are still flagging.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed last month that the GHF’s distribution centers would be protected by private security contractors.

Palestinians in Gaza get aid from the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation)

Though while Washington backs the effort, State Department spokeperson Tammy Bruce has repeatedly made clear that the GHF is «an independent organization» that «does not receive U.S. government funding.» 

However, she has also refused to confirm whether any U.S. officials are working for the program. 

PSCs have a storied history in the Middle East, and not only the U.S. war on terror. They have been used by nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which could lend them a level of acceptance that would not be attainable by another force. 

The proposal issued by Hannah and his colleagues took the use of PSCs one step beyond humanitarian aid and argued they could make a positive impact in the actual reconstruction of the Gaza Strip – an idea that was also presented to the Trump administration this year. 

Displaced Palestinians wait to receive a free meal from a charity food distribution center in Gaza City, northern Gaza, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«It’s not at all foreign to these Arab parties that you might employ PSCs for certain critical missions,» Hannah said. «Our idea was, let’s scale it up. Let’s unify the effort. Let’s have America and the Arabs lead it. 

«The Arabs would put in most of the humanitarian aid workers, a lot of the financing, and then they would hire some of these international PSCs with a lot of experience to come in and protect those operations,» he explained. «You’d have the Arabs engaged, which we thought was absolutely critical.»

The plan also included bringing in other international aid organizations that would work with these PSCs to expand developments like housing projects, community development and infrastructure repair to restore electricity and water.

«And eventually, hopefully, begin to identify new leadership, local leadership in Gaza, who would be prepared to cooperate with the operations of this nonprofit entity,» Hannah said. «Local Gazans of goodwill, who wanted to be rid of Hamas, who this entity could provide some support to, some protection to so they can, could begin rebuilding Gaza civil administration.»

Destroyed buildings are pictured in the west of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 11, 2025 amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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The plan also addressed the perpetual question of how to deter the next generation of Hamas terrroirsts, particularly amid Israeli military operations.

Hannah argued this issue could be addressed by simultaneously training a «non-Hamas new Palestinian, local Palestinian security force» that would not only have the trust of the local population but could also gain the trust of Israel.  

Hannah said he still believes this plan could be a tenable next step to securing the Gaza Strip but urged the Trump administration to take a more direct diplomatic role by leaning on Arab, European and Israeli partners to make it happen.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about this reporting. 

Un mensaje que se transmitía por altavoz en las calles de los suburbios de Chicago en 1982 alertó a los vecinos. “No tome Tylenol hasta nuevo aviso”, se escuchaba por los parlantes una y otra vez. La advertencia causó desconcierto, ya que era uno de los medicamentos más comunes para tratar la fiebre o el dolor muscular.

Sin embargo, con el correr de los días, se conoció el motivo de la alerta: el 29 de septiembre de ese mismo año, cuatro personas que tuvieron síntomas similares murieron. Después, los análisis de sangre dieron positivo en la intoxicación por cianuro.

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El caos se desató después, cuando se constató que las víctimas habían consumido cápsulas de Tylenol. Por eso, las empresas productoras -McNeil Consumer Products y Johnson & Johnson- retiraron el producto del mercado. Pero, antes de ello, otras tres personas murieron en circunstancias parecidas.

Siete muertes

En la mañana del 29 de septiembre, Mary Kellerman, una nena de 12 años de Illinois, les dijo a sus padres que se sentía mal y que no quería ir a la escuela. Poco después de tomar una cápsula de Tylenol para aliviar su dolor, se desmayó en el piso del baño. Murió unos minutos más tarde.

Ese día, en una localidad cercana, Adam Janus, de 27 años, tomó dos pastillas del mismo medicamento, ya que no se había levantado bien y tenía que ir a trabajar. Sin embargo, de un momento a otro se desmayó y empezó a tener convulsiones. Una vez que lo trasladaron a un hospital, murió a pesar del esfuerzo de los médicos.

Luego de la conmoción por la muerte del joven, su familia se reunió en la casa. Esa tarde, Stanley Janus, el hermano de Adam, y su esposa, Theresa, tenían dolor de cabeza, así que tomaron una dosis de Tylenol cada uno. Pocos segundos después, se descompensaron y empezaron a convulsionar.

En los días siguientes, otras tres muertes ocurrieron en misteriosas circunstancias: Mary Reiner, de 27 años, Mary MacFarland, de 31 años, y Paula Prince, de 35 años, fueron las víctimas.

Luego de una inmediata investigación, las autoridades sanitarias descubrieron que las cápsulas de Tylenol habían sido manipuladas y que, en lugar del medicamento, les habían puesto cianuro.

Una pieza fundamental fue el testimonio de una enfermera llamada Helen Jensen, quien fue la persona que se dio cuenta de la conexión entre las víctimas y el consumo del analgésico.

Por este motivo, Johnson & Johnson hizo un retiro masivo del producto y se descartaron al menos 31 millones de frascos. La alerta de no consumir Tylenol se transmitió por televisión nacional, por las autoridades locales y hasta por los mismos vecinos, que se ofrecieron como voluntarios para informar a cada uno de los residentes de sus barrios.

Los sospechosos

En medio del caos y la desesperación, apareció un primer sospechoso. James William Lewis, un hombre de Nueva York que envió una carta a Johnson & Johnson en la que se atribuía la responsabilidad de los envenenamientos.

En el escrito, exigía un millón de dólares a cambio de detener los asesinatos. La policía logró rastrear las huellas digitales en el sobre y lo identificó. Sin embargo, al comprobar que Lewis no estaba en Chicago durante los asesinatos, lo descartaron como autor material.

A pesar de eso, la investigación siguió señalándolo como sospechoso. Fue condenado por intento de extorsión y pasó varios años en prisión. Si bien la pena era de 20 años en un principio, obtuvo la libertad condicional después de cumplir 13.

Incluso, mientras estuvo preso, ofreció su colaboración para esclarecer el caso. “Si fuera por la calle y su casa estuviera en llamas, no es mi problema, pero me detendría e intentaría ayudar”, aseguró en una entrevista con CNN en 1992.

Con el tiempo, tanto él como su esposa entregaron muestras de ADN y huellas digitales al FBI. Lewis siempre negó cualquier participación directa en los envenenamientos. Sin embargo, documentos del Departamento de Justicia sostienen que, pese a la falta de pruebas concluyentes para procesarlo, es el principal sospechoso.

Pero no fue el único bajo la lupa. También fue investigado Roger Arnold, un residente de Chicago que fue señalado por el dueño de un bar. Pero si bien más tarde quedó libre de toda sospecha, la exposición mediática lo llevó a sufrir una crisis nerviosa: en 1983, confundió a un hombre con la persona que lo había acusado y lo asesinó de un disparo.

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Otra mujer, Laurie Dann, apareció en el radar de los investigadores luego de cometer una serie de asesinatos en 1988. Sufría trastornos mentales y, aunque fue considerada como posible autora, nunca hubo pruebas que la vincularan con las muertes provocadas por las cápsulas envenenadas.

Hoy, más de cuatro décadas después, el caso sigue abierto y los siete asesinatos siguen siendo un misterio sin resolver.

Iran launched a new wave of missile attacks against Israel on Monday morning, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens of others, according to Israeli emergency services.

Four people in their 70s — two men and two women — were among the people killed in the wave of missile attacks that struck four sites in central Israel, the Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service reported.

In addition to those killed, the MDA said more than 100 others had been evacuated and transported to hospitals, including a 30-year-old woman in serious condition, while rescuers continued to search for people trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed homes.

A six-day-old baby was among those pulled from the rubble.

TRUMP SAYS ISRAEL AND IRAN ‘HAVE TO FIGHT IT OUT’ BUT BELIEVES DEAL IS POSSIBLE

The attacks raised Israel’s casualties total to at least 24 dead and more than 500 wounded in the conflict that began Friday with an Israeli offensive against Iran.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets responded to the attacks on Monday by striking 10 command centers in Tehran that belonged to Quds Force, an elite arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations.

Powerful explosions, likely from Israel’s defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, shook Tel Aviv shortly before dawn.

A missile fell near the U.S. Embassy branch in Tel Aviv, causing some minor damage to property from concussions of the blast, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on X. There were no injuries to U.S. personnel.

Iran announced it had launched about 100 missiles and promised further retaliation in response to Israel’s attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure.

EXILED CROWN PRINCE SAYS IRANIAN PEOPLE HAVE ‘TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY’ TO TOPPLE WEAKENED REGIME

Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

At least 224 people have been killed and roughly 1,300 have been wounded in Iran since Israel began its offensive on Friday, and the vast majority of casualties were civilians, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health.

Rights groups, such as the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group Human Rights Activists, have suggested that the Iranian government is undercounting the death toll. The group says it has documented more than 400 people killed, including 197 civilians.

Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said Iranian missiles had struck a residential building, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and pulling the walls off multiple apartments.

On Sunday, during an earlier wave of Iranian missiles on central Israel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will stop its strikes if Israel halts its attacks.

An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

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But after a day of intensive Israeli aerial attacks that extended targets beyond military installations to hit oil refineries and government buildings, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard pledged on Monday that additional rounds of strikes would be «more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones.»

Israel argues that its assault on Iran’s top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, and U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.