Retired Green Beret describes working for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: "Nothing but war crimes"

Raleigh, North Carolina - Retired Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar, a subcontractor who worked with the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has come forward to share his experiences working on the deadly scheme.

A Palestinian woman carries a food package as people return to the Nuseirat refugee camp from a US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point near the Netsarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025.
A Palestinian woman carries a food package as people return to the Nuseirat refugee camp from a US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point near the Netsarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025.  © Eyad BABA / AFP

Aguilar, a retired US Army Special Forces officer, was contacted by the North Carolina-based subcontractor UG Solutions in May to join the GHF aid distribution mission in Gaza.

Aguilar, who was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, said during an interview with UnXeptable that he had concerns shortly after his arrival in Gaza when he saw there would only be four aid distribution sites – in the immediate vicinity of Israeli military positions and operations.

"It's not in line with humanitarian law. It's not in line with international law. It's a violation of the Geneva Convention to have humanitarian aid distribution sites in an active war zone," he said.

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Aguilar said he submitted a report listing his concerns about the setup of the distribution points on May 28.

"When we first saw the sites, myself seeing the locations, I immediately thought to myself that either whoever planned these has no idea how military operations and humanitarian operations and considerations for civilians on the battlefield – whoever planned these has no idea of that at all, or they planned these very well for a different purpose," Aguilar recalled.

"The purpose that I see that is, they're absolutely designed, set up, established location-wise for the forced displacement of the civilians within Gaza," he added.

Anthony Aguilar calls out US complicity in Gaza atrocities

People surround the body of a Palestinian woman who was shot while seeking aid at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point, at the entrance of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025.
People surround the body of a Palestinian woman who was shot while seeking aid at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point, at the entrance of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025.  © Eyad BABA / AFP

Since leaving UG Solutions in June, Aguilar has publicly shared the horrific conditions under which the starving people of Gaza are forced to seek aid under the privatized GHF system.

"What I witnessed in Gaza, I can only describe as a dystopian, post-apocalyptic wasteland. We – we, the United States – are complicit. We are involved, hand in hand, in the atrocities and the genocide that is currently undergoing in Gaza," Aguilar said during an appearance on Democracy Now.

"What I saw on the sites, around the sites, to and from the sites, can be described as nothing but war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of international law. This is not hyperbole. This is not platitudes or drama. This is the truth."

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Aguilar took videos during his time in Gaza, one of which he said shows an American UG Solutions independent security contractor firing at Palestinians leaving an aid site in central Gaza.

"That individual that's shooting, you hear him clearly say, 'Woohoo!' cheering," Aguilar said, describing the clip. "And the response from the other contractor on the ground, who was standing about 15 feet from me, who says, 'I think you got one.' And at the same time, the other contractor then responds with, 'Hell, yeah, boy!'"

"What they are talking about as the 'got one' is a human being, a civilian, an unarmed, starving civilian, who came to our site to get food, who was returning home."

Anthony Aguilar witnesses Israeli soldiers firing at Palestinians seeking aid

Palestinians mourn as they carry a youth who was shot while seeking aid at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point, at the entrance of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025.
Palestinians mourn as they carry a youth who was shot while seeking aid at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point, at the entrance of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2025.  © Eyad BABA / AFP

In addition to US security contractors shooting at Palestinian civilians, Aguilar also witnessed Israeli soldiers firing into crowds of desperate and starving people seeking aid.

In an interview with the Middle East Eye, the former Green Beret recounted a heartbreaking encounter with an emaciated Palestinian boy named Amir.

"This little boy is not wearing shoes. His clothes are falling off of him because he's so skinny," he said.

Aguilar said he put his hand on Amir's shoulder and told him, "The world cares."

Amir then put down the food he managed to gather, put his hands on Aguilar's face, and kissed him while saying "thank you" in English.

Shortly thereafter, Israeli soldiers began firing into a crowd, killing the boy.

"Amir walked 12 kilometers [seven miles] to get food, got nothing but scraps, thanked us for it, and died," Aguilar said.

"For anyone who says that there is no starvation or mass hunger, or that not only are we at the precipice, but we have stepped over the line of wide-scale famine, to anyone who says that that's not happening, shame on you," Aguilar said on Democracy Now.

Cover photo: Eyad BABA / AFP

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