Whistleblower Anthony Aguilar shares first-hand testimony of war crimes committed by Israeli and US forces working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Over 25 years serving in the US military, Anthony Aguilar took part in various American wars around the world, including in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Yet, despite his experience fighting on the side of US interests, his brief experience on the ground in Gaza revealed to him the scale of war crimes and genocide perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians.
It was “unlike anything seen anywhere in the world, a scale of destruction and inhumanity I’ve never witnessed before”, he said.
In an extensive interview with The New Arab‘s Arabic edition, Aguilar gives his first-hand testimony from the short time he spent working with the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, detailing how Israel used food as a weapon to starve Palestinians and how, through formal contracts with the company Safe Reach Solutions, it controlled the quantities of food allowed into Gaza.
He describes how American contractors and Israeli forces targeted starving civilians – men, women and children – at four aid distribution sites operated by the organisation. He supported his testimony with videos and photos.
The interview was conducted by Mohammed al-Badawi, Al-Araby al-Jadeed’s correspondent in Washington. It has been slightly edited for clarity.
What is your professional background?
My name is Anthony Aguilar. I served in the American military for 25 years and retired from service at the beginning of this year. In May 2025, I contracted with UG Solutions on behalf of what was called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to go to Gaza and provide security for the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians. I was in Gaza for 46 days in May and June.
What were you doing in Gaza during this time?
I worked at the four designated distribution sites under the GHF umbrella, as well as in operations centres responsible for logistics, transportation and security.
When we were hired to work in Gaza, we were told that our mission was a replacement for the UN and UNRWA operations to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians. My understanding was that we would provide food for all residents, food, water, medicine, baby formula and all essentials.
But once I started working, it was clear that we were not working to provide food at the same scale as the UN itself. Instead of 400 distribution centres with 550 food trucks daily, we ran only four sites, with 12 to 15 trucks a day. This is wholly insufficient to provide the required amounts of food and aid.
What deeply concerned me was that this was deliberate. The food quantities were strictly limited, and no water was provided at all. When I reviewed the plans and requested changes, I was told that we would not increase the amount of food or the number of sites because we have a contract with the Israeli government through the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a body under the Israeli defence ministry.
Safe Reach Solutions, which managed the operation, had a written contract that specified the amount of food and how it would be delivered. As a result, the entire operation involved limited amounts of dry food, no water, no baby formula, and no medicine. This was deliberate and intentional, part of a larger plan, which made me question the real goal of the operation.
What did you do when you realised this?
When I proposed solutions to address some of those problems, I was told that no adjustments would be made and that the work would proceed in the same way. We were providing what amounted to only a single meal for each Palestinian every two days, with no water. This was totally unacceptable to me.
It was part of a general scheme of starvation: reducing food, reducing water, reducing resources to the population. Once I realised that this was all part of the plan, and that we were doing it deliberately, I resigned from UG Solutions, left Gaza, and returned to the United States.
In addition, the killings of civilians were a factor in my decision. I had never seen a scale of destruction and killing in my life, after 25 years in the army and deployments to conflict zones like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
What was the overall framework? Who was in control?
The Israeli army was in full control through its contract with Safe Reach Solutions – a for-profit security contractor – making it impossible to deliver aid strictly according to humanitarian principles. It is a shady project and I believe it demands investigation by US federal agencies.
The GHF is American but it’s a non-governmental organisation. It’s just an idea, an organisation with no actual existence. Initially, it was said to be independent but we later learned that it was a part of Safe Reach Solutions. The same people who own GHF are the people who owned Blackwater [an American private military contractor] and then Constellis, which gave rise to UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions. They are the same people with the same ideas.
The company I worked for, UG Solutions, was operating under Safe Reach Solutions, which had a contact with Israel and gets money from the Israeli army. It was just a façade. Safe Reach Solutions controlled everything, and [CEO and former CIA officer] Philip Reilly was one of the people controlled all matters related to GHF.
You have spoken publicly about the involvement of contractors in killing Palestinians. Could you clarify further details?
The distribution sites were secured by armed security personnel from UG Solutions. At the sites, they would fire on unarmed Palestinian civilians using live ammunition, tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. They were firing into crowds to control them, to push them back, or to make them leave.
On one occasion, I saw a Palestinian woman killed by a stun grenade fired by a contractor – it exploded near her, wounded her and killed her. Another person fired an assault rifle at unarmed civilians who were leaving site 4 and killed a civilian man carrying a bag of food as he left. He was shot and killed for no reason other than to cause pain, suffering, terror and death.
I remember this boy Amir, who was barefoot and kissed my hand, saying thank you. He was hungry, gaunt, his trousers held up by a rope. I looked into his eyes and put my hand on his shoulder and said: “You are not alone, we are with you”. I sat down, and he touched my forehead and kissed it and said: “Thank you”. And when he went to leave, tear gas was fired by the contractors and bullets were fired into the air. As he left with the crowds, the Israeli army fired bullets, and some of them were hit, and Amir was one of them.
I witnessed UG Solutions contractors firing randomly at Palestinians every day, and the Israeli army was also firing at large groups of civilians coming to or leaving the sites. This happened every day during every distribution operation we did. It was very disturbing to see civilians being put in danger and harmed while simply trying to survive.
Many of the UG Solutions contractors were recruited from the Infidels Motorcycle Club, which has a charter calling for the extermination of all Muslims. These individuals believe their presence in Gaza is part of a crusade or a mission to kill Muslims on behalf of Christianity.
It worries me very much that the US is participating in this genocide with US taxpayer money and it’s disturbing to me that there are US citizens doing this because they want to kill Palestinians.
What was the moment you decided to resign from the company and speak out publicly?
There were a number of incidents that made me question why I was there and why Americans were in Gaza, but one particular incident in early June 2025 – the 8th or 9th – at the operations centre in Kerem Abu Salem, where I was part of a conversation with a senior Israeli officer who wanted to open fire on children on a dirt berm using snipers.
It was at Distribution Site 2 south of Rafah. There was a crush of people waiting for aid, and children trying to leave so they wouldn’t be trampled under the crowd against a concrete wall. One Palestinian raised some of the children over the wall. All of them were under ten years old. They looked thin, hungry and dehydrated, and were barefoot. They were innocent children posing no threat.
The Israeli officer was angry because the children were on the wall and described them as a threat. The contractors tried to persuade the children to come down, but the officer contacted snipers and directed them to prepare to open fire on the children. At that moment, I said: “We will not fire on children. We will not fire on unarmed civilians.”
Fortunately, the children came down from the wall before they fired. But then the American managers of Safe Reach Solutions told me: “Never say no to a client”. They said the Israeli army and Israeli government were our clients and what they say must be done. When I asked, “even if they were going to kill children?” they replied: “Stand aside and let them. That’s their business.”
At that moment I realised everything was being done deliberately – from the food restrictions, to the lack of water, to the lack of security. Everything was deliberate and part of a plan imposed by the Israeli army, and I realised I could not continue to be part of that plan.
Did you see other cases of firing on children?
Yes, many times. There were cases where the Israeli army fired with machine guns at children, killing some of them. And there were times where the UG Solutions contractors fired or threw hand grenades, used tear gas or stun grenades, injuring children. Sometimes they fired directly at children. And because they were small, they got trampled under crowds of thousands.
One of these incidents was a crush at site 3 on 16 July, which resulted in the deaths of about 20 people. They died in the stampede. Those who were crushed to death were killed because of the design of the aid sites.
How many people were working for UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions?
It was supposed to be 275 Americans and 75 ex-soldiers or mercenaries from Uganda. When the Ugandan mercenaries decided they did not want to take part in the mission, we were forced to hire more Americans. At that time, there were around 325 to 340 American contractors under the supervision of UG Solutions. I don’t know how many there are now. As for Safe Reach Solutions, they had their own staff, but I don’t know how many.
Do you know how many people resigned while you were there?
Before I resigned in June, eight Americans from the two companies resigned. After I left, four more contractors left. Since then, I don’t know if there have been others. But at least before and immediately after my departure, there were others who quit. I wasn’t the only one.
Why did no one else speak out publicly, and why did you choose to reveal your name?
Some spoke anonymously. I felt it was necessary to identify myself and convey what I saw. What I saw in Gaza is very little compared to what is really happening, and it’s not new information. Palestinians, humanitarian workers have been speaking about this for years. I chose to speak publicly because I was there and I saw with my own eyes what was happening. As an American, having served in the US military and worked for UG Solutions, I felt my testimony might be important or seen as worth hearing. I had to be honest and say who I am to lend credibility, rather than being an anonymous witness.
We have known for years that Israel ignores any kind of criticism and claims that the critics are from Hamas or under threat from Hamas. In Israel’s view everyone else is lying. Since I started speaking about what I saw in Gaza, not one person has challenged anything I described.
What did your directors at UG Solutions say?
When I was in Gaza and raised my concerns, UG Solutions’ leadership didn’t implement any changes. They said: “Well, we are here to do this. We get paid to do this. That’s all. Nothing else matters.”
When some people got injured and others killed, I spoke again with my leadership and said: “On 29 May at distribution site 4, one of your employees shot this person. This person is committing a crime.” They responded: “The Israeli army is responsible; if they don’t have a problem with it, we’re fine. If the Israeli army and Israeli government have no complaints about us, then we will keep doing what we’re doing.”
There was a sense of impunity, and the company felt they could do what they wanted because the Israeli government would allow it.
Even if it was a war crime under international law?
Israel wants to kill and erase every Palestinian. They know this is against international law and humanitarian law. They don’t care about international laws. And having Americans with a mindset like the Infidels Motorcycle Club, who want to kill all Muslims, armed, going into Gaza to “deliver humanitarian aid”. That appears to violate the laws of war and the Geneva Convention. When Israel chose the companies for this contract, they wanted killing, chaos and more suffering for Gaza’s population, so the idea of serious violations of the Geneva Convention and international law did not matter to them. Their focus was on total control of Gaza.
Have you discussed these issues with your colleagues at UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions?
Yes. There are people working under the contract who feel that the bombing and killing of Palestinians is a good thing. Some of my colleagues see this as the right thing and are pro-Israel. Some of these Americans believe that getting rid of all the Palestinians and then rebuilding Gaza is a good outcome. They accept that and think that removing the Palestinians is necessary because they should not be there, and there can be no peace if there are Palestinians.
But what about their obligation to follow US and international law to protect civilians?
Many contractors working for UG Solutions are former US military. They know US and international law prohibit harm to non-combatants, women and children, and prohibit putting them at risk of forced displacement and starvation. But now they are retired, and their personal views about Palestinians, white nationalism or Christian Zionism should not carry more weight for them than the oath they took during service. They know this is wrong, but they see it as a necessary evil and consider killing civilians, women, and children part of doing good in the world.
Did you tell the leadership that what was happening amounted to a war crime?
Yes, it is illegal and a war crime. I discussed this with managers from the start because the distribution sites are located in active combat zones, and forcing civilians to move through those areas is a war crime. I was told that the Israeli military does not have to follow the Geneva Conventions because Hamas is a terrorist organisation, but that is incorrect. Under the law, during an armed conflict, the occupying power must comply with the rules of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law. Israel has ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention, as did the United States. And when I raised the crimes with the officials, their response was: “It doesn’t matter, this is what we get paid for. This is not our problem.”
Do you think Israel used humanitarian aid to target and kill Palestinians?
Israel’s intent has always been to stop humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza’s population. They did that by reducing the number of trucks entering Gaza. They wanted to remove the UN and UNRWA – institutions Israel did not control – so they said they were compromised by Hamas and could not deliver food. But Israel deliberately starved the population. Those sites were made into death traps. Israel knows its actions violate international law, so it tried to hide that.
With the current ceasefire, Israel can simply prevent food and medicine from entering, killing Gaza’s population through a policy of starvation and disease. Once the disease starts to spread in an environment suffering famine without hospitals or sanitation, polio and other viruses spread quickly. Ninety-six percent of Gaza’s population lives near open sewage. Gaza is smaller than a city like Philadelphia, but has twice the population. When disease spreads amid famine, that kills people quickly – and Israel knows this.
What saddens me is that the world is not demanding accountability. I don’t think the world will demand that Israel be held to account to stop these crimes. People see this but the question is what kind of accountability the world will demand and what it will do to stop it.