August 1, 2025 | 02:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -Anthony Aguilar, a retired US Army veteran, shared his account of atrocities committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Aguilar, who served in the US military for 25 years, worked as a security officer for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group supported by both the US and Israel in delivering aid to Gaza.
He described the killing of a Palestinian boy named Amir, who was shot shortly after receiving aid. According to Aguilar, Amir, barefoot and dressed in ragged clothes, had walked 12 kilometers to reach the GHF aid distribution point.
The boy was weak and desperate for food. Not long after receiving a small package of aid, Israeli soldiers opened fire.
Anger continued to rise on Thursday after GHF and Aguilar’s stories were shared with US lawmakers and journalists. US Senator Bernie Sanders posted a video of Aguilar on X, stating that the veteran had witnessed atrocities carried out with American tax dollars.
As reported by Al Jazeera, Aguilar spoke about the incident during an interview on the UnXeptable podcast with Israeli activist Offir Gutelzon and journalist Noga Tarnopolsky.
He recalled that Amir approached him as the crowd began to disperse from the aid site. Aguilar also shared a photo of the boy, who appeared to be no older than 10 or 12.
"He puts out his hand, and so I beckoned him to come to me. I said, ‘Come here.’ And he reaches out and he holds my hand, and he kisses my hand and he says, ‘Shukran [Thank you],’" said Aguilar.
Shortly after the aid was distributed, Israeli soldiers began spraying pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades, and firing bullets, some into the air, others at Amir’s feet and into the crowd. Refugees, including women, children, and infants, tried to flee. Aguilar said he heard machine gun fire from Israeli troops.
"They’re shooting to control the population that’s along the Morag Corridor. And as they’re doing that, they’re shooting into this crowd, … and Palestinians, civilians, human beings, are dropping to the ground, getting shot," he said.
"And Amir was one of them. Amir walked 12km to get food, got nothing but scraps, thanked us for it and died," he said.
Health officials reported that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to receive aid since GHF began operations at the end of May. GHF had replaced a United Nations-supported system that previously managed humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, at least 60,249 Palestinians have died in the enclave.
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