What were three former British army soldiers doing in Gaza?

The common denominator among the three British dead is that they are former soldiers and work for the same private security company (Anatolia)

London -

The killing of 3 British citizens in the Israeli bombing of a car belonging to the humanitarian organization “World Central Kitchen” in the Gaza Strip sparked a lot of controversy in the United Kingdom. As soon as the identities of the 3 citizens were announced, question marks loomed over their backgrounds and the reasons for their presence in the Strip.

The reason for this controversy is the military background of the three citizens who were assassinated by the occupation army, and much confusion about their relationship with British intelligence and whether they were actually on a humanitarian mission or whether their presence in the Gaza Strip was for purely security purposes.

Although it is difficult to confirm the three's relationship with British intelligence, there are two strong threads that lead towards learning more about who these people are. The first thread begins with their relationship with the British Army and the second lies in the nature of the company in which they worked.

The common denominator among the three Britons who were killed by the Israeli army is that they all served in the British army, and one of them was even a member of the British Special Forces.

The Global Kitchen Foundation said that the killed workers were in Gaza to provide protection for its crew (agencies)

Who are the three military men?

James Henderson, 33 years old, is one of the 3. He served for 6 years in the British Navy, and during these years he succeeded in becoming a member of the British Navy’s Special Combat Forces. Looking at his page on LinkedIn, James describes himself as "a committed military man who takes the safety of others seriously."

James left the British Army in 2016 before working in the private sector in the field of security and insurance. He moved between many hot spots in the world until he ended up in Gaza, which he was scheduled to leave next Monday had the Israeli army not directly targeted his car and his companions. .

As for John Chapman, he is also a 57-year-old former soldier. He was a member of the elite forces in the British Army and spent many years in the army, which he joined immediately after leaving school. John Chapman spent a few weeks in the Gaza Strip with the "World Kitchen" organization.

John left the British Army 4 years ago to join a private security company, the same company where James Henerson worked.

Finally, James Kirby, a former soldier in the British Army, also a sniper and missile expert, is 47 years old. According to a statement made by his family to the BBC, James served in areas of armed conflict before, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Afghanistan, and he knew well the danger of traveling to Gaza.

James describes himself on his LinkedIn account as an expert in “individual close protection as well as security surveillance and protection.”

What are they doing in Gaza?

The link that unites the three British military personnel is that they work for the well-known British security company “Solas Global,” which defines itself as a company for insuring trips as well as securing people and property. It is also registered with the British Digital Security Agency (NCSC) as a company to confront electronic attacks and hacking attempts. .

Their presence in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by the International Kitchen Foundation, was to provide protection for the organization’s staff who were working there.

After there was much controversy about the reasons for the presence of the three soldiers in the Gaza Strip and the reports that they were working with British intelligence, a number of former soldiers and others rose up to deny this hypothesis, through a number of tweets on the “X” website.

This is what British General Charlie Herbit did when he published a picture of himself with an armed man and said that he was a former soldier in the elite forces of the British Army, stressing that it is normal for humanitarian organizations to resort to former military personnel who work with private security companies to work with them in high-risk areas.

There were many tweets responding to the British general from figures working in the oil sector or even the media, to confirm the veracity of his story that they had previously dealt with former military personnel who now worked with private security companies during their travel to high-risk places.

Source: Al Jazeera