INTERNACIONAL
Could private security contractors be the ‘day after’ solution in Gaza?
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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.
Palestinians continue their daily lives under harsh conditions amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza following the enforcement of a ceasefire agreement on Feb. 10, 2025. (Mahmoud ssa/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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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)
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«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)
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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.
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, one of the leading Republican contenders for governor, has filed a lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, challenging the legality of his GOP rival’s campaign funding.
Carr asked a federal judge to permanently block Jones’ ability to spend money from his leadership committee, a fundraising tool that allows the state’s governor, lieutenant governor and legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds.
Both men are leading Republican candidates to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp after next year’s election.
Carr argues that Jones’ leadership committee violates the attorney general’s First Amendment right to free speech and his 14th Amendment right to equal protection by setting up a campaign finance structure that boosts Jones and limits how much Carr can spend on his campaign. A 2021 state law that created leadership committees does not allow Carr or other declared candidates to have access to the fundraising vehicle.
Carr’s regular campaign committee is limited to raising $8,400 from each donor for his primary campaign and $4,200 for a potential primary runoff.
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, pictured here, sued Lt. Gov. Burt Jones over the legality of the lieutenant governor’s campaign funding. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Carr campaign spokeswoman Julia Mazzone said in a statement that Jones «is using his position to sidestep contribution limits, raise six-figure checks during legislative sessions and funnel unlimited money into a competitive primary through a structure only he can access.»
«Republicans cannot ignore the cloud of unethical, illegal and corrupt behavior that surrounds Burt Jones,» Mazzone said.
«Leadership committees were never intended to be unregulated campaign machines,» the statement added. «The court has ruled on this before, and the Constitution prohibits exactly what’s happening here. We’re taking action to uphold transparency and accountability standards.»
A Jones campaign spokesperson, meanwhile, has accused Carr of being hypocritical since his office previously defended the same law that he is now challenging in court. Carr has argued that the attorney general must defend challenged laws even if he personally disagrees with them.
«Georgia’s lackluster Attorney General defended this law two years ago,» Kendyl Parker, Jones’ spokeswoman said. «Now, he’s running for governor and wants to challenge the same law he once defended. If hypocrisy were an Olympic sport, he’d take gold.»
Carr launched his gubernatorial bid last year, saying he needed more time to raise money because he is not personally wealthy. His campaign has expressed concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and family wealth to support his primary campaign.
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Georgia AG Chris Carr asked a federal judge to permanently block Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ ability to spend money from the lieutenant governor’s leadership committee. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Carr campaign has sought to have the state Ethics Commission probe the source of a $10 million loan Jones made to his leadership committee, although the commission declined to launch an investigation, noting that Carr failed to allege a legal violation.
The attorney general’s campaign pointed to U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen’s 2022 ruling that a leadership committee for Kemp could not use money for Kemp’s re-election campaign during that year’s Republican primary. Cohen found that the «unequal campaign finance scheme» violated GOP primary challenger and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s First Amendment right to free speech.
Cohen ruled that Kemp could continue raising money for the leadership committee but said the governor could not spend it against Perdue in the primary.
«Despite full knowledge of this history, Mr. Jones and his leadership committee, WBJ Leadership Committee, Inc., are ignoring this Court’s prior rulings and using a leadership committee—that has no contribution or coordinated spending limits—in a primary election against a candidate without one,» Carr’s lawsuit reads.
Carr is seeking additional restrictions on Jones’ leadership committee than in Cohen’s ruling. The attorney general is asking a judge to cut off both fundraising and spending from the lieutenant governor’s leadership committee until the primary race is over.
He is also requesting that a federal magistrate judge be appointed to oversee all spending by the leadership committee and that Jones’ regular campaign committee repay any money already spent by the leadership committee to support Jones’ gubernatorial run.
«The loan and its amount are significant because Mr. Jones is also able to raise unlimited funds into the leadership committee, then repay the loan from funds raised that then can be applied directly to his campaign account, effectively removing the contribution limits from those dollars,» the lawsuit says.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ campaign criticized Georgia AG Chris Carr as a hypocrite since his office defended the same law in 2022 that he is now challenging in court. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
Carr asks that the court block Jones from giving any cash to dark money groups or making any loans to his regular campaign committee during the primary. He also wants the magistrate judge to probe where Jones’ $10 million loan came from, citing a 2022 financial disclosure showing that Jones did not have enough liquid assets for a loan of that quantity.
The attorney general’s campaign continues to express concern that Jones could raise unlimited money to repay his loan and then give the repaid money to his candidate committee for the primary, arguing that this would wreck campaign contribution restrictions.
«Mr. Jones is raising and spending unlimited amounts of money in the primary—and Mr. Carr is limited in what he can raise by Georgia’s existing campaign contribution limits,» the lawsuit reads. «This Court should level this uneven playing field by preventing Mr. Jones from using his leadership committee during the primary election.»
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Carr’s campaign has also called on the Ethics Commission for an advisory legal opinion on whether Jones’ fundraising activity is legal.
The Republican primary will be held in May, and the general election next year in the purple state is expected to be one of the most expensive governor’s races in the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Trump could be happening as soon as next week.
Fox News can report that officials are tentatively planning for a Trump-Putin summit at the end of next week, according to a source familiar with the planning. The location is still up in the air but Hungary, Switzerland, Rome and the United Arab Emirates are in the mix, Fox News is told.
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President Donald Trump is expected to meet in person with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, possibly next week. (Getty Images)
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The summit could still ultimately fall apart as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed officials of the terms of the Ukrainian Constitution which mandate a national referendum for any territorial concessions.
U.S. President Donald Trump (C) and Vice President JD Vance meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
A meeting between Putin and Trump would be their first since Trump returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the 3-year-old war, though there’s no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.
Trump, appearing before reporters later at the White House, didn’t answer questions about a potential location for a meeting but when asked about a summit with Putin and Zelenskyy, said «there’s a very good prospect that they will» meet.
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 28, 2025. (SERGEI ILYIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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The president declined to predict how close he was to reaching a deal to end the fighting, saying, «I’ve been disappointed before with this one.»
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Bomberos en un hospital para tuberculosos tras el impacto de una bomba rusa en el techo en Járkov, Ucrania, el viernes 25 de julio de 2025. El presidente ruso, Vladímir Putin, lleva tiempo afirmando su deseo de reunirse con el presidente Trump. La razón: cree que dicha reunión, más que un simple avance en el campo de batalla, es su mejor oportunidad para asegurar la victoria en su guerra contra Ucrania. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times)Giro
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