Gaza Aid Group Says Its Accuser Was Never at the Sites

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the American-backed body that ran food distribution sites inside the Gaza Strip, accused a former security contractor on Tuesday of spreading a “false narrative” about alleged war crimes after he was dismissed for poor performance. The contractor, Anthony Aguilar, a former United States special forces soldier, had told the BBC that he witnessed “indiscriminate and unnecessary force” by Israeli soldiers and by private contractors at the foundation’s aid sites. “In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality,” he told the broadcaster, describing what he characterised as war crimes.

The foundation, generally known by its initials GHF, said the episodes Aguilar described had not happened and that he had not been in a position to see them. “Not only did the events that he recounted never happen, but he wasn’t even in the right place or at the right time to have seen the things that he claims to have seen,” said the foundation’s spokesperson, Chapin Fay. According to Fay, Aguilar was dismissed on 13 June by UG Solutions, the security company GHF describes as its partner, for “misconduct, erratic behavior, and repeated workplace conflicts”.

The paper trail GHF put on the table

Fay produced text messages that he said showed Aguilar asking to be taken back and then threatening to retaliate. In a message dated 15 June, Fay said, Aguilar wrote: “I could be your best friend or your worst nightmare.” The requests continued into early July, according to Fay, and UG Solutions did not reinstate him.

Fay also said that a memo Aguilar claimed to have sent to UG Solutions leadership on 28 May, raising concerns about conduct in Gaza, had in fact been created on 21 June, after the dismissal, and was sent to company staff and to news organisations at the same time. He read out a message he said Aguilar sent on 29 May: “Your efforts have brought families back together and have severely weakened the image of Hamas.” Another, from late May, read: “It’s a privilege and an honor to see America’s best doing America’s most important work.”

On the substance of the allegations, Fay said contractors used only non-lethal means (pepper spray and flashbangs) and only to stop crushes in the crowd. “No UG personnel have ever directed warning shots at civilians on the ground,” he said. “They were fired into the air or toward the coastline.” He said Aguilar had spent more than half of his 27-day engagement in Israel rather than at the distribution sites and “did not have a line of sight to IDF assets”. GHF also released an affidavit signed by UG Solutions staff who had worked alongside Aguilar and who contradicted his account. The foundation’s legal counsel, David Panzer, called Aguilar’s conduct “an attempt to seek retribution” and urged news organisations to “vet his claims carefully”. The dispute was reported the same week by The Times of Israel.

Why an American foundation was handing out food in Gaza

GHF was a new and heavily contested arrangement. It began operating in late May 2025 with United States and Israeli government backing, and its distribution points were run by American private security firms rather than by aid agencies, a structure Oxfam and more than 170 other non-governmental organisations rejected as a breach of humanitarian practice. The United Nations, which had run relief into Gaza alongside other agencies, opposed the foundation’s creation, saying the system gave Israel control over food distribution.

GHF said it had distributed more than 97 million meals since operations began on 26 May, and its leadership said it had faced repeated threats from Hamas over a model that bypassed Hamas-controlled channels. The foundation also said Hamas had fired on Palestinians walking to its distribution centres, and that residents of the Strip blamed the group for violence intended to disrupt the aid. The war had begun with Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage; of the 50 hostages still held at the time of the statement, around 30 were believed to be dead.

What became of the foundation

The argument over Aguilar’s account was one of many the foundation had. Deaths near the distribution points were reported throughout its operation: PBS NewsHour reported that soldiers often opened fire near the sites, killing hundreds, according to witnesses and video posted to social media, and that other contractors said American guards had fired live ammunition and stun grenades. Oxfam said hundreds of people lost their lives trying to reach food at the centres. GHF wound down after a United States-brokered ceasefire took effect in October 2025, and announced on 24 November 2025 that it was closing permanently.

What is still unclear

The briefing was a one-sided presentation. GHF released selected messages, metadata and an affidavit, and the statement did not carry any response from Aguilar to the specific documents. The foundation did not say whether any independent body had examined the memo’s metadata, or whether it or UG Solutions had referred the matter to any authority. It also did not address the wider question of who was firing near the aid sites on the days in question, a dispute that outlived both the contractor and the foundation.