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Manual Aslim walks through the rubble of her destroyed home in Rafah.Credit:AP

In the early days of the war,the Israeli military ordered amass evacuation of northern Gaza,forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee south. For months,Israeli soldiers have patrolled the Netzarim corridor in part to prevent Palestinians fromheading back north.

But under the terms of a 42-day ceasefire that started on Sunday,Israeli troops are set to partially withdraw over the weekend and allow Palestinians to head north. The truce was mediated by Qatar,Egypt and the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said for months that Israel will not allow armed fighters to return to northern Gaza. Mediators sought to craft a compromise between Israel’s security demands and Hamas’ conditions for an Israeli withdrawal.

Palestinians travelling on foot will be allowed to go back without inspection,according to a copy of one of the ceasefire’s annexes shared withThe New York Times. Under the deal,the private contractors are set to begin checking Palestinian vehiclesheading north as soon as Saturday.

A photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah,Gaza Strip.Credit:AP

But it was far from clear when the mechanism would be put into effect,and two of the officials said it might take a couple of weeks.

One of the firms assigned to the corridor is Safe Reach Solutions,which conducts logistics and planning,according to a company spokesperson,who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive operations.

Safe Reach Solutions will oversee operational management of the crossings,said a second person familiar with its operations,while two other firms — one American,one Egyptian — will handle the actual inspections. It is not yet clear who will fund the contractors’ deployment.

The company’swebsite,which appears to have been registered in 2024 and created in 2025,contains almost no specific information on the organisation’s activities,funding or staff members. The company also appears to have social media accounts on Instagram and Threads,but both are empty of content.

Palestinians walk through the destruction following an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis,southern Gaza Strip.Credit:AP

US officials have not visited the Gaza Strip for years,both because of security concerns and the official no-contact policy with Hamas,the enclave’s de facto rulers.

Israel hopes that the private security contractors will eventually form the nucleus of a larger international force,backed by Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,that will run Gaza in the future,two of the officials said. The Saudis and the Emiratis are not currently involved,they added.

But following the ceasefire,Hamas,which led the October 7,2023,attack on Israel that set off the war,has reasserted itself,sending its fighters to parade through the streets of Gaza in a show of strength.

The images have dampened Israel’s hopes of toppling the militant group,despite 15 months of war in Gaza that killed more than 46,000 people,according to health officials in Gaza.

This article originally appeared inThe New York Times.

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