Cate Brown

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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:

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:

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.

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.

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

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.

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...

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

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.

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

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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

Inside Taganrog: beatings, electrocution and starvation at prison where Ukrainians were tortured Russia is holding an estimated 16,000 civilians in arbitrary detention at 180 separate facilities. Taganrog was the most notorious.

A typical meal at Taganrog was about four and a half spoonfuls of food...

New report from @manisha.bsky.social @shaunwalker7.bsky.social and team on the treatment of Ukrainian detainees at one of Russia’s most notorious prison compounds. #ViktoriiaProject

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

She tried to expose Russia’s brutal detention system — and ended up dead A consortium of international journalists continued the work of Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was investigating reports of torture and detention of Ukrainian civilians in occupied Ukraine.

Incredible and haunting reporting by @catebrown.bsky.social, @osviz-jarrett.bsky.social, Catherine Belton, Anastacia Galouchka & others: “She took risks not for the sake of bravery or being recognized, but because she believed it was her duty" www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

U.N. special rapporteur Alice Edwards said she's documented "serious cases of torture" in Russian prisons and detention sites. “Look, I’m calling this part of Russian war policy. It’s clear that it’s organized. It’s clear that it’s systematic.”

Our investigation, no paywall: wapo.st/3YNw5PF

Other former Taganrog detainees spoke of lengthy interrogations by Russian guards, daily beatings and torture sessions in an electric chair.

Sergeii Taraniuk recalled his first beating: People didn’t die... "They just crawled into a cell.”
#ViktoriiaProject

When her body was finally returned to Kyiv, medical examiners found a broken rib and possible traces of electric shocks. Her eyeballs and her brain had been removed.

Some officials have speculated that Roshchyna's organs were removed to conceal signs of abuse. #ViktoriiaProject

The 27-year old Ukrainian journalist was held incommunicado for eight months after being arrested by Russian authorities in #Enerhodar while investigating Russia's network of prisons.

She was reported dead on Oct. 2 -- but for months, the circumstances of her death remained unknown.

She tried to expose Russia’s brutal detention system — and ended up dead A consortium of international journalists continued the work of reporter Viktoriia Roshchyna who was investigating what Russia was doing in occupied Ukraine.

Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna set out to report on claims that Russia was operating a network of ad hoc detention centers in occupied #Ukraine. But in Aug '23 she disappeared into one herself...

Our investigation into Russia's notorious Taganrog prison #ViktoriiaProject
wapo.st/3YNw5PF

Istanbul protest image destined for book covers

📸 Ümit Bektaş, @reuters.com

“First, They Came for Mahmoud Khalil” Those close to him tell the story of a man whose journey took him from being a "double refugee" to scholar to political prisoner.

Cheers to @meghnadbose.bsky.social and co for this thoughtfully reported portrait of #MahmoudKhalil

www.dropsitenews.com/p/mahmoud-kh...

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‘I am a political prisoner’: Mahmoud Khalil says he’s being targeted for political beliefs Exclusive: Palestinian activist and green card holder speaks out from Louisiana detention for first time

“My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza which resumed in full force Monday night,” #MahmoudKhalil said in a statement provided to @annabetts.bsky.social. Here/
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Who is Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia student protester arrested by ICE? Trump wants to deport Khalil, calling him a threat to America for his role in protests against the Israel-Gaza war. Some say, unmasked, he was an easy target.

Mahmoud Khalil’s wife told me that the public outcry over his detention matters.

“He has access to a TV at the detention center,” said Abdalla, who has received calls from her husband since his Saturday arrest. “He can see all the support.”

w/ @SusanSvrluga #MahmoudKhalil
wapo.st/43NPdQZ

I have suspected that this arrest was directed out of the White House rather than being pursuant to the supposed “adverse foreign policy consequences” determination by Rubio.

Will be interesting to see what further information emerges on this front.