An American security contractor who previously worked at aid distribution sites inside Gaza run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has told the BBC that he witnessed his co-workers fire live ammunition at unarmed, hungry Palestinians who posed no threat.
In one incident, the contractor said a guard had opened fire from a watchtower with a machine gun because a group of women, children, and elderly people were moving too slowly away from the site. A second guard opened fire, and a Palestinian man appeared to have been hit.
“A Palestinian man dropped to the ground motionless. And then the other contractor who was standing there was like, ‘damn, I think you got one’. And then they laughed about it,” the former contractor, who spoke to the BBC on the condition of anonymity, said.
The former contractor said the teams operating at the distribution sites were told by a team leader: “If you feel threatened, shoot – shoot to kill and ask questions later.” He said the culture in the company is that there are “no rules” in Gaza, and the crowds of hungry Palestinians are referred to as “zombie hordes,” insinuating that they have no value.
“If a Palestinian is walking away from the site and not demonstrating any hostile intent, and we’re shooting warning shots at them regardless, we are wrong, we are criminally negligent,” the contractor said.
He said Palestinians were also harmed by pepper spray and stun grenades used on the crowds, and in one instance, he saw a woman get hit in the head by a stun grenade. “This metal piece hit her directly in the head and she dropped to the ground, not moving,” he said. “I don’t know if she was dead. I know for a fact she was unconscious and completely limp.”
The Associated Press had a similar report that cited two GHF contractors who also said they saw colleagues use live fire, stun grenades, and pepper spray against the starving Palestinians. In response to the BBC report, the GHF said the allegations were false and claimed no civilians ever came under fire at its distribution sites.
The GHF also claimed the former contractor was “disgruntled” after being fired for misconduct, but the BBC said its source showed evidence that he left the job on good terms. The former contractor noted that each aid site has CCTV monitoring, and GHF’s claim that no one there had been hurt or shot at was “an absolute bare-faced lie.”
Over the weekend, the GHF said that two of its contractors were injured in a grenade attack, which the group blamed on Hamas, but it did not provide video footage or other evidence to back up the claim.
The GHF’s distribution sites have become death traps for desperate Palestinians as hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while making their way to or leaving the sites. A report from Haaretz revealed that IDF troops had been given orders to fire on unarmed Palestinians attempting to reach GHF distribution sites to drive them away or disperse them, even though they posed no threat.
