This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: “The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.” That’s the dire warning issued today by the world’s leading hunger monitor. This comes as the official death toll in Gaza has topped 60,000, but that’s widely viewed to be a vast undercount. At least 147 Palestinians, including 88 children, have starved to death. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied there’s any starvation in Gaza, but on Monday President Trump contradicted Netanyahu’s claim.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We can save a lot of people. I mean, some of those kids are — that’s real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can’t fake that.
AMY GOODMAN: In related news, a group of at least 21 U.S. senators has written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the U.S. to stop funding the shadowy U.S.- and Israeli-backed so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was created to take over aid deliveries in Gaza, replacing the United Nations. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen is the lead author of the letter. He appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday and said the aid sites have been turned into death traps.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: American taxpayers should not be spending one penny to fund this private organization, backed by mercenaries and by the IDF, that has become a death trap. Over a thousand people have died from being shot and killed as starving people crowd to try to get food at just these four sites.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now in Raleigh, North Carolina, by Anthony Aguilar, a whistleblower who worked as a subcontractor in Gaza as part of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid delivery operation. He resigned from his job with UG Solutions after witnessing Palestinians being fatally shot as they sought food at aid sites. Anthony Aguilar is a retired lieutenant colonel who served for 25 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a Green Beret.
Anthony, thanks so much for joining us on Democracy Now! Can you start off by talking about your experience in Gaza and telling us exactly what you saw?
ANTHONY AGUILAR: Thank you. It’s an honor to be here and to share this story. I do not call this my story. I call this the story of the oppressed, the story of the Palestinians in Gaza who are dying at the hands of starvation and violence.
What I witnessed in Gaza, I can only describe as a dystopian, post-apocalyptic wasteland. We — we, the United States — are complicit. We are involved, hand in hand, in the atrocities and the genocide that is currently undergoing in Gaza. For anyone who says that there is no starvation or mass hunger, or that not only are we at the precipice, but we have stepped over the line of wide-scale famine, to anyone who says that that’s not happening, shame on you. Shame on you. It’s inhumane.
What I witnessed in Gaza at all four distribution sites — I didn’t just go to one for a photo-op. I didn’t go to one to watch a distribution and then say, “Yes, this looks great.” I spent days on end in Gaza at all four distribution sites, at Kerem Shalom, where the aid is loaded for distribution, and at both operation centers that control the daily convoys, logistics operations and distribution for the four sites. What I saw on the sites, around the sites, to and from the sites, can be described as nothing but war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of international law. This is not hyperbole. This is not platitudes or drama. This is the truth.
I break that down by what I would describe as the sites themselves. I spoke to Senator Van Hollen last week, and we had a very frank discussion on the status of the sites and what’s at these sites. The sites have not only become death traps, they were designed as death traps. All four distribution locations were intentionally, deliberately constructed, planned and built in the middle of an active combat zone. Some may argue, “Well, all of Gaza is a war zone.” That may be true, but there are parts of Gaza that are direct — or, determined to be active, operational combat zones where Israeli Defense Forces are operating. Those sites were built in the middle of those areas intentionally. It’s not by accident. That, in and of itself, to designate humanitarian distribution sites to service an unarmed, starving population, to build them deliberately in an active combat zone, is a violation of the Geneva Convention protocols. It’s a violation of humanitarian law. And in my opinion, it’s a violation of humanity in general.
The sites, not only where they were built, all four sites around the perimeter and the roads leading in and out are barricaded by razor wire — not barbed wire, not concertina wire that we use in warfare for obstacle obstruction or for paths. Razor wire. Geneva Conventions specifically prohibit the use of razor wire to restrict areas that civilians are servicing — hospitals, water points, food distribution points. And we’re using it. Not only did the IDF provide it for us to use it on the sites, we, UG Solutions, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, asked for it specifically. Razor wire is designed to maim and kill, and we’re using that to channelize and herd, if you will, thousands of unarmed, starving civilians. That’s a war crime.
The actions on the sites — escalation of force, no standard operating procedures to dictate that, no rules of engagement provided to the armed contractors on the ground, the indiscriminate use of force, lethal and nonlethal, against unarmed civilians. I want to make that clear. We aren’t there on the distribution sites defending ourselves against Hamas. We are using indiscriminate force, targeting civilians, escalation of force that goes far beyond the measures of appropriate, against an unarmed, starving population.
The equipment, the equipment that we were issued, fully automatic weapons, which, in and of itself, is not a violation of protocol. However, we were issued M855 green-tipped ammunition. That’s important, because green-tipped ammunition is a steel-jacketed copper round that’s designed to — specifically designed to penetrate armor. It’s designed to kill. It’s designed to shoot through reinforced objects, to kill someone on the other side of it. That’s what all the UG Solutions contractors are equipped with right now in country. Everyone carries a standard basic load of 210 rounds of M855 armor-piercing military combat ammunition. Why would anyone need that, even if to defend themselves for their — defend their lives, against an unarmed population? It’s inappropriate. That, in and of itself, that action there, is a war crime.
I’d call the status of our — of us being in the country — every UG Solutions contract American, U.S. citizens, in Israel, that are armed with fully automatic weapons in Gaza as we speak, today, right now, and have been since the 26th of May, we are in the country on a B2 entry visa as tourists. We are in the country as tourists. So, if a family member wanted to go to Israel to visit Jerusalem, they would enter Israel on a tourist visa. That’s the legal status that armed American citizens are in Gaza right now with the authority to use hostile force against an unarmed civilian on a tourist visa. That is a violation of humanitarian international law, period.
The things that I just described are not just opinions, they’re facts. The sites were designed to lure, bait, aid and kill. The food that we distribute, nowhere near enough. To Mr. Johnnie Moore, shame on you for celebrating 92 million meals delivered into Gaza. Shame on you. It’s a very simple equation: 92 divided by 2.2 million people, divided by 3 million — or, three meals a day. That’s what GHF proclaims. We’ve been distributing aid since the 26th of May, 26th May to now the 29th of June, 64 days of continuous distribution, and we’ve only managed to distribute 92 million meals. When you break that down, again, it’s a simple equation. That’s 14 days of meals. So, out of 64 days, we’ve provided 14 days of meals to the entire population in the enclave of Gaza. That’s inhumane. That would be like saying that you only eat every fourth day — you only eat on Thursday, and you only eat on Monday. And to say that that’s humanitarian? So, to anyone that says that that’s enough or — not even close to enough. The narrative of GHF needs help to do the rest, you don’t need help, because you’re not even anywhere close to where we need to be.
The fact is, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is not trained, equipped, manned or staffed to run humanitarian aid and humanitarian assistance of this magnitude. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation needs to be defunded, shut down, and the United Nations needs to be allowed back in, in full scale, supported by the United States, resourced, helped. Instead of giving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation $60 million, use that $60 million to support the United Nations mechanism to get 400 sites back to operating, to feed 2.1 million people every day. That was the capacity of the United Nations.
So, what I saw in Gaza, to me, concerns me as an American. What we are doing in Gaza, in being complicit with what the Israeli Defense Forces are doing, is un-American. I didn’t come forward to talk because I want to disregard the struggle and the fight. I stand with Israel against Hamas and their atrocities. The world stands with Israel against Hamas and their atrocities. No one would argue that October 7th wasn’t atrocious. But if we, as a nation, the United States, and Israel, our closest — one of our closest allies, if we go down the road of saying we’re doing what Hamas did, and saying that that’s OK, we are losing our humanity. And we cannot go down that road. It’s un-American. It’s not in line with our values.
Two months ago, I hung up my uniform after 25 years of service to this nation. I didn’t hang up my oath. I swore an oath to the Constitution. I didn’t swear an oath to the president, to the Congress, to a boss, to a contract, to a paycheck. I swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States of America. And that Constitution is underlined in American values, dignity, respect, respect for human life. Right now America is on a dangerous road. And if we don’t stop now, end this and back the humanitarian aid process that should be going into Gaza, shame on us, un-American. I’m going to make sure the truth is known.
AMY GOODMAN: Anthony Aguilar is a retired lieutenant colonel Green Beret, as he said, 25 years of service in the U.S. military, was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star in combat in 2005. How did you come to work at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation? How were you recruited? Who were you exactly working for? Are you considered a U.S. government employee? Were you?
ANTHONY AGUILAR: I was not considered a U.S. government employee. I was specifically hired as an independent subcontractor under UG Solutions, which held this subcontract under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, specifically for the armed security and protection of the aid. I was contacted by UG Solutions on the 13th of May. They were specifically looking for retired, recently retired military personnel who had special operations background. So I was contacted by them for that reason and asked if I would be interested in joining UG Solutions on this operation.
AMY GOODMAN: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has dismissed your testimony, Anthony, accusing you of making false claims with no basis in reality. The GHF said, quote, “It should be emphasized that Mr. Aguilar was employed as a subcontractor and was fired over a month ago for inappropriate behavior. Following the dismissal, we received threats that unless he was reinstated, action would be taken against us, raising questions regarding the motivation behind his interviews. We also have evidence that he likely forged documents and presented misleading videos to promote his false narrative.” Again, this is the accusation of the GHF. Can you respond to what they’ve said, and talk about the videos that they’re talking about?
ANTHONY AGUILAR: What I find interesting about stating that the claims I make have no basis in reality, I provided videos. Those videos have been analyzed in their metadata and geolocation. In fact, UG Solutions themselves posted one of my videos on their press release website, showing the exact same thing, stating, “Here’s the whole story,” simply just showing what the video showed with UG Solutions contractors shooting at civilians. It’s outlandish.
Back to the question of me being fired or not, when I was — the short period of time that I was on contract, 41 days I was on contract, in that short period of time, UG Solutions promoted me twice, gave me a pay raise twice, asked me to take on more and more responsibility, relied on me for my expertise. I terminated my employment on the 13th of June in writing. I terminated that employment under the clear reasons that I could no longer be a part of this unethical, inhumane operation. After I tendered my resignation on the 13th of June, UG Solutions asked me to stay, to reconsider. They continued to pay me for an entire pay period. They continued to cover my life insurance. They continued to pay for all of my expenses until the 26th of June. If UG Solutions terminated me or fired me on the 13th of June, why would they continue to pay me my full pay, my coverage, and pay for all my expenses through the 26th of June, asking me to stay and reconsider my position? I wasn’t fired. I resigned because I could no longer be a part of it.
In terms of performance, all of the operations, the convoy operation plans, the distribution plans, the operational plans, I generated. I wrote them for UG Solutions because they did not have anyone on their staff who had the requisite experience, knowledge and expertise to do that type of work. So, you’re welcome, UG Solutions. You’re welcome, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, because if it weren’t for me and other contractors that have skill, former Green Berets, former veterans, if it weren’t for us — they’re doing the work — you wouldn’t be able to operate at all. No one in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, from Johnnie Moore to Phil Reilly of SRS to Jameson Govoni of UG Solutions, have any experience in in-depth planning and operational planning, period, much less for a humanitarian assistance mission.
They’re understaffed. They’re underqualified. And they’re in way over their head for a mission that they should not have.
AMY GOODMAN: I just want to explain to people, according to The New York Times, Johnnie Moore is “a former Trump campaign adviser, was appointed to the board of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. … Moore was [co-chair] of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign’s evangelical advisory board and an influential figure during … Trump’s first administration. He was part of a coalition of Christian leaders who paid regular visits to the White House, … as well as prayer meetings in the Oval Office.” His PR company, Kairos, was acquired in 2022 by JDA Worldwide. He “now serves as president of that larger firm. When he announced the acquisition on social media, … Moore referred to his work in public relations as his ‘day job,’ as he has had many other roles and projects linked to his faith and interest in foreign policy, including writing books on the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa.” He told The New York Times “he and other evangelicals had pressed … Trump to recognize Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and to move the U.S. Embassy there.” He, “like many evangelicals, including Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, is committed to a Jewish state based on his interpretation of the Bible.”
I wanted to go to one of the videos you shared with the BBC showing armed American guards working with GHF opening fire at an aid site in Gaza on May 29th. This is a short excerpt.
U.S. CONTRACTOR: I think you hit one.
AMY GOODMAN: “I think you hit one.” That’s what we hear someone saying. Who was saying that, Anthony? And describe what we’re seeing and hearing in this video. Who is firing? Who are they shooting at?
ANTHONY AGUILAR: In that video, the firing that you hear is gunfire from an assault rifle being fired by a UG Solutions independent security contractor. That individual is firing at a group of unarmed civilians who have left the site. That is distribution site number four in the central — up in central Gaza, near the Netzarim Corridor. The Palestinians had left the site. They were moving south, back towards the bridge over Gadi or Waza — or, Wadi Gaza, back into Bureij, where they — the town they came from.
This individual was shooting at them, at their feet, over their heads, into the crowd. You hear the clear and distinct American voice and the shooting. That shooting is very close to that camera, where I am standing. I filmed that video, not Hamas, not the Gaza Health Ministry, not some biased agent news media outlet. I filmed that, an American. That individual that’s shooting, you hear him clearly say, “Woo hoo!” cheering. And the response from the other contractor on the ground, who was standing about 15 feet from me, who says, “I think you got one.” And at the same time, the other contractor then responds with, “Hell, yeah, boy!” What they are talking about is the got one is a human being, a civilian, an unarmed, starving civilian, who came to our site to get food, who was returning home. Why did we shoot at him? Because we wanted them to leave faster.
That video is genuine. It’s been time-stamped analyzed. It’s been geolocated. It’s been — the metadata has been assessed. In fact, in fact, UG Solutions themselves posted that exact same video on their press release page to refute the video itself. So they used the video that I filmed to refute the video that I filmed.
AMY GOODMAN: So, UG Solutions, who you worked for, is a U.S. mercenary firm. GHF distribution sites are guarded by two U.S. security firms, Safe Reach Solutions, SRS, and UG Solutions — SRS run by a former high-ranking CIA officer tied to a U.S. private equity firm in Chicago, according to Middle East Eye. How did you get recruited?
ANTHONY AGUILAR: Again, UG — so, I was not recruited by Safe Reach Solutions or the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. I didn’t work for them. I was a subcontractor specifically under UG Solutions. UG Solutions is located in Davidson, North Carolina. So, they were first reaching out to retired special operators, special operations forces soldiers who had that specific skill set, who were local to North Carolina, because it would have been very — it would have been quicker and easier to recruit them and get them onboarded.
So, I was called by UG Solutions. When the operation was first explained to me, I felt that — I felt that it was a noble cause. One thing that I will agree with Johnnie Moore in this, one thing he has said early on, there is nothing more Christian than feeding people. I would agree with that. What I don’t agree with is that what we are doing is not that — lying, covering the truth, under the auspice of feeding people for profit. Remember, these are private organizations. The person in charge of Safe Reach Solutions is a former CIA officer and part of a private equity firm. That’s who we have in charge of distributing humanitarian aid to a starving population? So, when I first went into this, I was excited. I felt it was a noble cause. Within hours of being in Israel and seeing how this was going to unfold, I immediately had dire concerns as to the intentions, as to the execution, and what was going to happen when this fails.
AMY GOODMAN: Did other people share your feelings? And is it accurate to call you, though you’re a former retired Green Beret, a lieutenant colonel in Special Forces for years — is it accurate to call you a mercenary, as you worked with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
ANTHONY AGUILAR: So, I would not refer to myself as a mercenary, nor would I refer to myself as a whistleblower. I’m a patriotic American who wants America to know the truth. When I took this contract to go on this mission, my motivations were clear. I wanted to use my years of expertise, my experience in planning, my experience in executing operations of a large-scale magnitude to contribute to this mission succeeding. That’s what I wanted.
I retired. I recently had retired, thoroughly enjoyed being a stay-at-home dad, watching The Golden Girls in the afternoon and enjoying my afternoon walks with my dog, enjoyed that. I didn’t take on this mission for personal gain or money. I took on this mission because I believed in it. I resigned my contract and left, walked away from the money — and they were paying us a lot of money — walked away from that money, because nothing is going to buy my soul. Nothing is going to pay for my values and my patriotism as an American.
I’m an American first. I’m not a contractor. I’m not a mercenary. I’m not a whistleblower. I’m a patriotic American that wants the American people to know the truth of what we are involved in, in a very complex and complicated environment that, quite frankly, right now we are on the wrong side of history.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to end it there, but I want to just be very clear: You saw former U.S. military, you saw IDF, you saw the Israeli soldiers opening fire on hungry Palestinians.
ANTHONY AGUILAR: Without a doubt, yes, full stop.
AMY GOODMAN: Anthony Aguilar worked as a subcontractor with UG Solutions with the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a delivery operation so-called, retired lieutenant colonel, served for 25 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a Green Beret, has been awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Thank you for joining us.
Coming up, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Stay with us.
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AMY GOODMAN: “The Women Gather,” Sweet Honey in the Rock in our Democracy Now! firehouse studio.
