GHF refutes former contractor’s allegations against IDF in Gaza, presents evidence of ‘false claims’ and ‘fabricated documents’

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has responded to allegations made by a former U.S. contractor who claims to have witnessed “war crimes” committed by IDF soldiers while working for the aid organization. 

The contractor, Anthony Aguilar, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, told the BBC in an interview, "I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces shooting at the crowds of Palestinians.” 

Aguilar said that in all his years of military service, he had never encountered such levels of "brutality."

“In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population,” Aguilar stated. 

“I have never witnessed that in all the places that I have been deployed to war, until I was in Gaza – at the hands of IDF and US contractors.” 

Aguilar’s testimony was widely circulated on social media by anti-Israel accounts and cited by several mainstream outlets as validation of ongoing anonymous reports alleging IDF violence against civilians in Gaza throughout the war.

In the BBC interview, Aguilar also downplayed the work of the GHF, using terms such as “amateur,” “inexperienced” and “untrained.” 

“My professional opinion of how the sites were established, was what I would describe as amateur, inexperienced, untrained, no idea of how to conduct operations of this magnitude. That would be my most benign assessment,” Aguilar told the BBC. 

However, his worst accusations were against the Israeli military. 

“I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces shooting at the crowds of Palestinians,” Aguilar stated. “I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces firing a main gun tank round from a Merkava tank into a crowd of people, destroying a car of civilians that were simply driving away from the site.” 

Following that interview, GHF presented the legal counsel for UG Solutions – the contracting company that employed Aguilar – at a press briefing to provide evidence countering Aguilar’s claims.

David Panzer, counsel for UG Solutions, said Aguilar’s statements to the press “are false, self-interested, and an attempt to seek retribution against UG Solutions.” 

Panzer stated that Aguilar’s contract with UG Solutions was terminated on June 13, 2025, “due to poor performance, volatile conflicts with staff, and erratic behavior.” 

During the briefing, Panzer presented personal and team messages sent by Aguilar to leadership and colleagues, praising the work the company was doing before his termination. 

“Despite whatever people may think about the politics of the situation, your presence is seen as a good thing,” Aguilar wrote in one Signal message. On the same day he sent that message to his colleagues, Aguilar also wrote to UG Solutions leadership, stating, “This is a very rewarding mission. I’m excited every day.” 

Panzer also presented messages sent by Aguilar after his dismissal, in which he threatened UG Solutions if he was not rehired.

In one message, he stated, “I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare.” These messages were interspersed with messages begging for his old job back. 

Panzer also showed data to back up the company’s claims that Aguilar claimed to have sent a message to UG Solutions leadership, raising concerns about conditions at the site where he worked, but that the email was composed and sent more than one month after his termination. 

UG Solutions also said that Aguilar was not in a position to witness some of the incidents he described in his BBC interview and was not within visual range of IDF positions.

Besides the information presented in the press briefing, GHF published an affidavit, signed by UG Solutions staff who had worked with Aguilar, contradicting his claims. 

We see scenes like this each day: Palestinians expressing gratitude to America and @POTUS for lifesaving aid.

In just two months, we’ve delivered over 98 million meals to the people of Gaza.

We are proud to be part of this vital mission, and we urge the international community… pic.twitter.com/dAENT5GBx8

— Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (@GHFUpdates) July 30, 2025

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