On a blistering afternoon in southern Gaza, a group of women, children, and elderly people were walking for miles, barefoot, just to get a chance to collect food. Instead, they were fired upon without warning.
According to a former security contractor who worked for the US-Israel backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), told the BBC, he watched guards open fire on civilians who posed no danger. He says he saw a man get shot and collapse, then heard fellow contractors laugh and say, “Damn, I think you got one.”
“These were hungry people, walking with kids. We were supposed to protect them, not treat them like animals,” he said.
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The former security contractor worked across all four GHF distribution sites in Gaza. His testimony paints a mortifying picture of what the aid operation really looks like.
On the other hand, the GHF has denied allegations, calling them categorically false. The organisation said no civilians were ever shot at and described the whistleblower as a “disgruntled former contractor” who was dismissed for misconduct. But, the man denies this and has shown the BBC documents to support his claim that he left on good terms.
The GHF began operating in Gaza in late May after an 11-week complete blockade, during which Israel allowed no food or aid into the territory. The foundation claims to have delivered over 52 million meals in five weeks. Israel and the US support the initiative as a way to bypass Hamas and provide direct aid to civilians.
But critics say the model forces thousands of desperate people to trek across active conflict zones to a small number of centralised aid sites.
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No rules, no accountability
The contractor described a dangerous, dehumanising work culture that lacked training and rules of engagement. Guards were asked to shoot if they felt threatened: “If you feel threatened, shoot — shoot to kill and ask questions later.”
The man recounted several incidents where guards fired live rounds into crowds. One involved a guard firing from a watchtower at a group of civilians mostly women and elderly people because they weren’t moving away from the site fast enough. “When I told management, they brushed it off,” he said.
He added, “They said maybe the man tripped. Maybe he was tired. It was like they didn’t care.”
The GHF says any gunfire heard on-site came from Israeli military forces, not its own staff. But the contractor says each site had CCTV surveillance and the company would have footage confirming the violence.
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He further added that people were sprayed directly in the face with mace. Others were pushed into razor wire fences and some were hit with stun grenades or injured in stampedes triggered by panic.
The GHF often referred to the Palestinians as “zombie hordes”, suggesting they were less than human, not worthy of care or compassion.
International pressure mounts on GHF
The security contractor’s testimony comes as international pressure mounts against the GHF. This week, more than 170 aid organisations including Oxfam, Save the Children, and Médecins Sans Frontières have called for the foundation to be shut down. In a joint statement, they said Israeli forces and armed groups “routinely” open fire on Palestinians seeking aid and that the GHF structure itself contributes to the danger.
UN officials and Gaza-based doctors report that since the GHF began operations, over 400 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access food from its distribution points.
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The GHF rejects these numbers and says it is doing what other organisations cannot which is delivering aid without it being looted or seized by Hamas. Israel supports the foundation as a mechanism to provide secure aid and insists its military does not deliberately target civilians collecting food.
The GHF controversy is unfolding against the backdrop of a deepening catastrophe in Gaza. Israel launched its military campaign after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. In response, Israel has conducted an intense air and ground offensive that, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, has killed at least 57,130 people.
Two million residents now face famine-like conditions. Many have been displaced multiple times, forced to live in tents, often with no clean water, power, or medical care. For many, food aid is the only hope of survival and even that has become a deadly gamble.