Gaza Herald- The war in Gaza has been marked by extreme violence, famine, and the systematic targeting of civilians. While governments and military officials continue to deny responsibility, a new and credible voice has come forward with direct testimony that challenges official narratives. Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Aguilar, a retired U.S. Special Forces officer, has spoken publicly for the first time about what he witnessed while working with a U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization inside Gaza. His account offers chilling confirmation of war crimes and the involvement of both Israeli forces and American military contractors.
Speaking from near the Gaza border, Aguilar described scenes of brutality that he says far exceeded anything he encountered in decades of deployments across conflict zones. A veteran of the Green Berets, he had been working with the Global Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an aid group funded and supported by both the United States and Israel. According to Aguilar, this foundation was not only involved in distributing food but also deeply entangled in military operations that led to the deaths of civilians.
“I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces shooting at crowds of Palestinians,” Aguilar said. “I saw a Merkava tank fire a main gun round into a car full of civilians who were simply trying to drive away. I saw mortar rounds being fired into crowds of people to keep them controlled.”
As a professional soldier, Aguilar offered a blunt assessment of the military conduct he witnessed. He described the operational setup as lacking training, discipline, and experience. More importantly, he said it was criminal in nature. “In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population until I was in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli army and U.S. contractors,” he told the BBC.
He confirmed that U.S. contractors were present and actively complicit in the attacks, adding that the distinction between American and Israeli actions on the ground was often blurred. “What I saw was a joint effort in carrying out attacks on civilians,” he said. “Without question, I witnessed war crimes.”
Aguilar’s testimony aligns with Palestinian eyewitness reports and international rights organizations that have documented repeated attacks on civilians at food distribution centers. Several of these centers were run by GHF, the same organization Aguilar was contracted with. What makes his account especially significant is that it comes from an insider, someone employed directly by an entity operating under U.S. and Israeli support.
Meanwhile, Gaza continues to suffer a deepening humanitarian disaster. Hunger and disease are spreading rapidly, and families are losing children to malnutrition. “My son Muhammad is suffering from malnutrition due to famine and the lack of food,” one father said, echoing thousands of similar cries from across the besieged enclave. Aguilar himself noted, “People can resist hunger for a long time, but in the end, their strength ebbs away. That is exactly what I saw happening in Gaza.”
Despite repeated Israeli claims that civilians are not being targeted, Aguilar’s firsthand account adds to a growing body of evidence pointing to the opposite. The targeting of civilians in Gaza appears neither isolated nor accidental. According to Aguilar and other sources, it is part of a broader strategy, executed with deadly precision and international backing.
The testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Aguilar, a U.S. Army veteran with decades of experience, exposes grave violations of international law. It reveals that war crimes are not only being committed by Israeli forces but also with the involvement of American personnel and institutions such as the Global Humanitarian Foundation. His words strengthen the call for an independent investigation and for justice to be served. The people of Gaza deserve truth, accountability, and protection. Aguilar’s voice may be the first from inside, but it will not be the last.
