Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Berlin, March 2023. (Credit: Tobias Schwarz/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office selected the company tasked with distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip without following standard procedures and without consulting Israel’s military establishment, Haaretz reported Sunday.
The Israeli daily, often critical of the government’s conduct of the war in Gaza, said Netanyahu’s military secretary, Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, enlisted the services of a little-known and inexperienced company called Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) to coordinate humanitarian operations in Gaza. The company was chosen without a public tender or proper vetting process. On LinkedIn, SRS describes itself as providing “turnkey solutions for organizations operating in difficult and high-risk areas.”
Although SRS is presented as an American company, Haaretz reported it is backed by Israeli figures, including businessmen and reservist officers recalled for military service, who helped push for its selection.
According to an article published Tuesday by Middle East Eye (MEE), SRS is led by Phil Reilly, a former paramilitary officer with the CIA who served in Asia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Two former U.S. officials told MEE that Reilly had gained the trust of Netanyahu and several Israeli businessmen close to him.
SRS had reportedly long been the favored candidate to oversee aid delivery in Gaza, in a project that could amount to “several hundred million dollars,” according to an Israeli businessman familiar with the plans, cited by MEE.
The company was among the private military contractors tasked with securing the Netzarim corridor in Gaza during a short cease-fire.
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