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Cate Brown

@catebrown.bsky.social
2.3K followers 101 following 52 posts

political investigations at @TheGuardian. formerly @WashingtonPost. power over/power to tips: cate.brown@theguardian.com

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Reposted by Cate Brown
Michael Beckel @mjbeckel.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Russian-American private equity investor Konstantin Sokolov is also a donor to President Trump's White House ballroom renovation project, as @catebrown.bsky.social @theguardian.com noted last week www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump ballroom donor to lead state department’s $200m Armenia fund
Konstantin Sokolov, who gave undisclosed sum and has not held government job before, to chair Tripp+ trade project
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Michael Beckel @mjbeckel.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Russian-American private equity investor Konstantin Sokolov — who was recently appointed by the U.S. State Department to chair the TRIPP+ Enterprise Fund — gave $1 million to President Trump's super PAC on June 10th, new FEC docs show docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
docquery.fec.gov
Schedule A for Line #17 Schedule A for Line #17
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 15/07/2026
"Trump ballroom donor to lead state department’s $200m Armenia fund Konstantin Sokolov, who gave undisclosed sum and has not held government job before, to chair Tripp+ trade project" @catebrown.bsky.social for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Trump ballroom donor to lead state department’s $200m Armenia fund
Konstantin Sokolov, who gave undisclosed sum and has not held government job before, to chair Tripp+ trade project
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
NEW: A Guardian review of thousands of DOJ-released Epstein records found that Ben Black— now the Senate-confirmed head of the $205bn DFC — once invested in the same company as Epstein and maintained social ties with him for years afterward. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show
Ben Black’s lawyers deny relationship with disgraced financier, but DoJ records reveal years of interactions
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Reposted by Cate Brown
George Zornick @gzornick.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
NEWS from @catebrown.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show
Ben Black’s lawyers deny relationship with disgraced financier, but DoJ records reveal years of interactions
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
‘Board of Peace’ officials deny being short on funds, but the group has only received $123mil dollars of the $7bn promised to Trump in Feb. That’s $1.75 for every $100 pledged. Diplomats and others say countries are hesitant to pay, esp after war in Iran. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
‘The door to the future of Gaza is still closed’: Trump’s reconstruction promises stall
Diplomatic impasse and lack of progress on the ground has left countries that pledged funds to Board of Peace reluctant to pay
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
With @julianborger.bsky.social and Emma Graham-Harrison
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
The top Gaza envoy for Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ is slated to earn $400k for his work leading Washington’s vision there. Asked about the figure, a BoP official said, “I’m not the CFO … but those were eye-popping.” More on 💸 + stalled BoP efforts —> www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
‘The door to the future of Gaza is still closed’: Trump’s reconstruction promises stall
Diplomatic impasse and lack of progress on the ground has left countries that pledged funds to Board of Peace reluctant to pay
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Joseph Gedeon @jgedeon.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
The Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog. Read more ⬇️ w/ @catebrown.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds
Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in Iran
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Trump may drop his lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the launch of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate people wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration, including Jan 6 rioters. Quick take following NYT +ABC www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump may settle his lawsuit against IRS for $1.7bn fund to compensate allies
In unprecedented self-dealing maneuver, billions of taxpayer dollars could be paid to US president and his allies
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Former US special ops @wesjbryant.bsky.social says the US strike on an Iranian warship is illegal. The boat was hit while returning from a training in India. “By targeting it, is Trump saying that all of Iran’s government and military poses an imminent threat?” www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The US war against #Iran is illegal, experts say, and they've challenged the Trump administration's rationale for waging it. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Trump administration waging illegal war on Iran, experts say
Administration offers shifting explanations as it acts without congressional approval or legal premise
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Stories about the illegality of the Iran War under both international law and the US Constitution and War Powers Act have featured on the front pages of Süddeutsche Zeitung, El País, Le Monde and papers all around the world. Not, however, in major US papers. Something is seriously wrong.
theguardian.com
Trump administration waging illegal war on Iran, experts say
Administration offers shifting explanations as it acts without congressional approval or legal premise
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The UK-based Guardian with the article that should be on Page 1 of every U.S. newspaper www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Trump administration waging illegal war on Iran, experts say
Administration offers shifting explanations as it acts without congressional approval or legal premise
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Pleased to speak with @catebrown.bsky.social of the @theguardian.com about Trump’s illegal war. “For something to be lawful self defense, it has to be necessary – in the sense that there’s no alternative. That’s not the situation here.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Trump administration waging illegal war on Iran, experts say
Administration offers shifting explanations as it acts without congressional approval or legal premise
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Reposted by Cate Brown
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 24/02/2026
‘An extension of his administration’: how Trump’s resorts became a proxy for access and power
theguardian.com
‘An extension of his administration’: how Trump’s resorts became a proxy for access and power
Elected officials visited Trump properties 145 times since his inauguration, records show
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
“We know this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Beckel @issueonereform.bsky.social. “We might never get a full accounting of all the money that Trump’s family and his companies have made from his time in the White House, and that’s deeply troubling.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
The RNC and MAGA INC have been largest spenders at Trump properties. All in, campaign finance records show that political groups have spent least $1.3m on events and catering at Trump’s resorts in 2025.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Elected leaders have visited Trump resorts 145 times since his inauguration, @citizensforethics.org found. Israeli diplomats topped the list. And Argentina’s President Milei received $20bil from the president, weeks before headlining at a Mar A Lago gala.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Trump has called Mar-a-Lago, “as close to paradise as I’m going to get”. And by some measures, it’s lovely he wants to share it. A new @citizensforethics.org report shows how Trump resorts have become luxury destinations to raise money and curry favor. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘An extension of his administration’: how Trump’s resorts became a proxy for access and power
Elected officials visited Trump properties 145 times since his inauguration, records show
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Reposted by Cate Brown
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 19/02/2026
DHS stated that federal immigration agents should arrest refugees who have not yet obtained a green card and detain them indefinitely for rescreening — a shift that upends decades of protections and puts tens of thousands of people at risk.
washingtonpost.com
New DHS memo outlines plan to detain refugees for further vetting
Resettlement organizations said the updated guidance represents a dramatic shift in how refugees are treated after being legally permitted to enter the United States.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
The Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in south Gaza, contracting records show. The site is envisioned as an operating base for a future multinational force. Indonesia has already pledged troops. w/ @aramroston.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files show
Exclusive: approximately 350-acre compound planned as base for multinational force, according to records reviewed by the Guardian
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Whistleblower attorney @AndrewBakaj revised his previous statement to the Guardian, saying that "The NSA picked up a phone call between two members of foreign intelligence involving someone close to the Trump White House." Updated with his new statement --> www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
NSA detected foreign intelligence phone call about a person close to Trump
Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
SCOOP: The NSA detected a phone call between foreign intelligence and a person close to Trump last spring. Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
NSA detected phone call between foreign intelligence and a person close to Trump
Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
SCOOP: A US disaster response firm submitted a plan to White House officials that would guarantee 300% profits and a seven-year monopoly over a new trucking and logistics plan for #Gaza @AramRoston and I report on the draft and its cash potential --> www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
theguardian.com
US contractor sent Gaza plan to White House that would secure 300% profits
Gothams LLC’s draft proposal, obtained by the Guardian, suggests seven-year trucking and logistics monopoly
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
As this story notes, three executives charged by CEO Will Lewis with leading the Washpost's most-publicized revenue efforts have left the company in the past year.
Lewis’s leadership team has floated a lofty goal of attracting 200 million subscribers in meetings with senior Post editors. But Lewis’s proposals to fix the Post have not provided clarity or inspired confidence. In January 2024, he debuted his “Fix it, build it, scale it” approach, telling Semafor’s Ben Smith that “social, AI, and personalization are the next opportunities.” That spring, he rolled out a more formal plan, focused on diversifying revenue streams through flexible payment options to target “untapped audiences,” additional subscription tiers à la Axios and Politico (Post Pro, Post Plus, and Membership), and further integration of artificial intelligence into Post products. A new team led by chief communications officer Kathy Baird would focus on marketing the Post’s star talents.

Baird left the Post a year later — part of a pattern of fits and starts for Lewis’s rebuilding project.

In June 2024, Lewis announced the formation of a “third newsroom” focused on service journalism and social media, among other innovations. The third newsroom would be “an industry defining moment for us,” Lewis said. Some six months later that effort was formally introduced as WP Ventures, led by Krissah Thompson, a beloved newsroom leader. A year later, Thompson took a voluntary buyout.

The Post then announced that Ventures would pivot, becoming a more commercial operation that would operate outside of the Post’s newsroom and focus on “creator-driven experimentation.” (It doesn’t help that Lewis’s business proposals are all encased in this sort of impenetrable corporate-speak.) Samantha Henig, a veteran in the journalism product space, would lead this new line of business. But in August 2025, the Post hired former Axios editor-in-chief Sara Goo to be the Post’s “President, Creator Network,” in which she’d be “building a new business with creators through an innovative commercial model.” In October, Henig left the Post.
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 28/01/2026
From @benjysarlin.bsky.social:
Pretty simple story. The Post was primed to get a massive influx of subscribers and interest in the Trump 2 era — and they've produced major scoops consistently in this period — and then something very obvious stopped it all from happening.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Family members have been scrambling to learn the whereabouts of more than 200 people arrested during an immigration crackdown that's swept across Maine. “#ICE came with the machinery in place to get people out of here as soon as possible." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Families in Maine scramble to halt ICE’s transfer of detainees out of state
Officials are quickly moving people they’ve apprehended out of state, making it difficult for loved ones to reach them
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
@dropsitenews.com first reported on the robust surveillance architecture embedded in these plans, including biometric data collection and security checkpoints to enter or exit the compound. The documents do not say who will oversee the “vetting” of prospective Palestinian residents. Take a look/
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
SCOOP: UAE plans to bankroll the first “planned community” in Gaza. Blueprints describe a ‘case study’ community where Palestinians submit biometric data to gain entry. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
United Arab Emirates plans to bankroll first ‘planned community’ in south Gaza
Exclusive: Blueprints describe a ‘case study’ community where residents submit biometric data to gain entry
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Reposted by Cate Brown
Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Pleased to speak with @johnphudson.bsky.social about the OLC opinion blessing the invasion of Venezuela. “This view that international law and the U.N. Charter doesn’t bind the U.S. president is very significant and very dangerous.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com
Previously secret memo gave legal basis for U.S. mission to nab Maduro
The administration releases a redacted version of a previously secret memo that gave the legal basis for the U.S. mission to arrest Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Exclusive: Dozens of artists, including @markruffalo.bsky.social @ilanaglazer.com have joined doctors and rights orgs to call for the restoration of medical care in #Gaza in a letter addressed to Israel and world leaders. It goes to UK, EU parliament this week. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Dozens of artists call for end to Israel’s ‘systematic attacks’ on Gaza hospitals
Actors, doctors and human rights leaders sign letter calling for restoration of medical care to ‘collapsed’ system
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Israel's war on Hamas has expanded to the Gulf. Here's a breakdown of their strikes across the region since Oct. 7, w/ @nihamasih.bsky.social --> wapo.st/4m9I4Ac
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
My latest with Karen DeYoung on a postwar plan for #Gaza circulating within the Trump administration. The fantastical scheme plays to Trump's January assessment: "It’s like a massive demolition site... It's got to be rebuilt in a different way." No paywall, docs linked: wapo.st/4g2eATo
wapo.st
Gaza postwar plan envisions ‘voluntary’ relocation of entire population
President Donald Trump and international partners are discussing plans to build a “Riviera of the Middle East” on the rubble of Gaza. One would establish U.S. control and pay Palestinians to leave.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Another person, Abu Mohamed, said he was staying in a partially destroyed house in Khan Younis, "but we could renovate... I refuse to go to another country, Muslim or not. This is my homeland." @adhaque.bsky.social told me that a "voluntary" scheme would not relieve Israel of its legal obligations.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
I asked a few Palestinians if they would accept $5,000 cash to move abroad. "Those places are not that different from Gaza. People will suffer, just in a different way," said Mohammed, a 42-year old father speaking over WhatsApp from Gaza City.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Israel, Netanyahu has said, is “talking to several countries” about taking relocated Gazans. Libya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Indonesia and Somaliland have been mentioned as potential hosts. Last week, Israel pledged $$ to assist in South Sudan's cholera outbreak...
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Certain things could cut costs for the investment scheme, dubbed the GREAT Trust, like debt-financing or increasing "the number of Gazans who volunteer to leave." It proposes paying Palestinians $5,000 cash to leave, plus a 4-year housing and food stipend. Every departure could save investors $23k.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Planners suggested giving people digital tokens in exchange for the rights to develop their land. Gazans would be able to "redeem" the blockchain asset to finance their lives elsewhere or to redeem a future apartment in one of 6-8 planned cities in Gaza, plans said.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Israeli planners, supported by BCG consultants, estimated that redeveloping Gaza would require more than $100 billion in public and private investments. They budgeted nearly 10bil in UXO/debris removal over 5 years, before launching a "tourism buildout" in earnest. Here's the 10-year pitch:
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Israeli planners, supported by BCG consultants, estimated that redeveloping Gaza would require more than $100 billion in public and private investments. They budgeted nearly 10bil in UXO/debris removal over 5 years, before launching a "tourism buildout" in earnest. Here's the 10-year pitch:
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Months ago, I saw a slide deck that promised to "fundamentally transform" #Gaza into a manufacturing and tourism hub "at the crossroads" of a new trade corridor linking #Israel to the Gulf. It showed AI-powered cities and electric vehicles, if someone cleared the debris.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
McNally Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm, as well as its subsidiaries, positioned themselves to profit off contracts with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, now the main source of food in #Gaza. A look at the shadowy network behind the GHF: wapo.st/410qmqP
wapo.st
The for-profit companies behind Israeli-U.S. nonprofit Gaza aid plan
Now the primary vehicle for food distribution inside Gaza, the controversial U.S.- and Israeli-backed operation is an issue in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Marah Maher lost both her legs when an Israeli airstrike hit her home in Zeitoun, Gaza. Months later, she’s living in Long Island learning to walk. A gorgeous profile of one woman, and the resilience of Gaza’s pediatric amputees / www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/20...
washingtonpost.com
Among a generation of young amputees from Gaza, one teen tries to move forward
Far from home, Marah Maher is learning to walk again. Every step brings her closer to an unimaginable future.
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Reposted by Cate Brown
John Hudson @johnphudson.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Scoop: The CEO of Boston Consulting Group apologized to staff and admitted “process failures” in the company’s decision to help design and run the controversial Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that supplanted the work of the UN to deliver aid to Gaza. W/ @catebrown.bsky.social
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
EXCLUSIVE: 198-pg planning doc reveals that architects of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had early concerns that people would compare its planned food hubs and residential compounds with “‘concentration camps’”. Full story —> wapo.st/43p3Vfy
wapo.st
Sweeping overhaul of Gaza aid raises questions of morality and workability
Concerns raised in a confidential planning document appear prescient, with humanitarian groups, possible donors and some senior IDF officers questioning the plan.
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Matthew Hay Brown @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
EXCLUSIVE Israel is planning to take control of and sharply reduce aid distribution in Gaza as a condition for lifting two-month blockade. It would use private U.S. security contractors Claire Parker Karen DeYoung Gerry Shih @catebrown.bsky.social report www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
washingtonpost.com
Israel plans to control aid distribution in Gaza, use U.S. contractors
Aid agencies say the plan runs counter to humanitarian principles, is logistically unworkable and could put Gazans and workers at risk.
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Me making the obvious law of war point. “African migrants locked up in a prison in northern Yemen are not a lawful military objective.” Pleased to speak with @catebrown.bsky.social and be quoted alongside Christopher LeMon and Trevor Ball. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
washingtonpost.com
Dozens killed in U.S. strike on purported detention center in Yemen, visuals show
The compound includes a migrant detention center and has at times served military functions, according to U.N. and human rights researchers.
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Cate Brown @catebrown.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Israel is planning to subcontract with two American security groups to manage a new aid distribution system in southern #Gaza. I've been told that Palestinians may have to undergo facial recognition scans in order to access life-saving aid. Our latest: wapo.st/3EN85Wk
wapo.st
Israel plans to control aid distribution in Gaza with U.S. contractors
Aid agencies say the plan runs counter to humanitarian principles, is logistically unworkable and could put Gazans and workers at risk.
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