Video of US contractors cheering after firing at Gaza civilians ignites fury online
Published on 2 July, the article is based on testimonies from two American contractors, videos, internal messages and forensic audio analysis. Both whistleblowers said they came forward due to what they described as 'dangerous and irresponsible practices' at sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US- and Israel-backed organisation operating in the besieged enclave.
Online reaction to the report was swift, with hundreds of people slamming the private military contractors and the distribution hubs.
'US mercenary criminal-thugs… GHF and the gang are killing machines in 'humanitarian' clothing', wrote one X user.
Another X user called the operation a 'sham' masking a 'ruthless agenda'.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
A few people quoted the news agency's description of the audio from one video: 'At that moment, bursts of gunfire erupt close by, at least 15 shots. 'Whoo! Whoo!' one contractor yelps. 'I think you hit one', one says. Then comes a shout: 'Hell, yeah, boy!'
While the clip does not show who was shooting, or where the shots were aimed, the contractor speaking to AP said their colleague was shooting in the direction of Palestinians at the aid point, and that they saw a man in that direction drop to the ground.
At that moment, bursts of gunfire erupt close by, at least 15 shots. 'Whoo! Whoo!' one contractor yelps.
'I think you hit one,' one says.
Then comes a shout: 'Hell, yeah, boy!' https://t.co/RWFmUnBUDZ pic.twitter.com/Sld74onZOd — Adil Haque (@AdHaque110) July 2, 2025
While some users praised the news agency for the report, others expressed frustration with its timing, which they same came too late.
'Yeah thanks AP, five weeks later and 600 people dead later #breakingnews', one user posted.
Another said: 'Palestinians have been telling you this is happening for weeks... Maybe you should start believing the victims of genocide over the ones committing it.'
'When are you going to do something?'
Middle East Eye has reported on Israeli forces targeting Palestinian aid seekers since the GHF began operations in late May.
At least 600 Palestinians have been killed so far, and thousands more injured.
Eyewitnesses have described the incidents as 'ambushes' carried out by the Israeli military.
Israeli troops have admitted to deliberately firing on unarmed Palestinians at the food distribution points, following direct orders from their superiors, according to a Haaretz report published last week.
A GHF subcontractor speaking to the AP denied that serious injuries had occurred at any of the aid sites.
Video from Associated Press showing American contractors as they cheer after shooting Palestinians desperate for food. 'Hell yeah boy' pic.twitter.com/m4YhHlMnmw — Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) July 2, 2025
But many on social media dismissed official denials by the GHF and its partners, instead pointing to accounts from Palestinians.
A video and photograph in the AP report shows at least one woman reportedly hit in the head with a stun grenade and another man in visible distress after being tear-gassed.
Social media users also raised alarm over the reported lack of oversight and qualifications among armed contractors operating at the aid sites.
'Last minute and unqualified contractors, untested weapons, little to no supervision, no rule of engagement,' lamented one user. 'This is what you do when you have no value of lives you are engaging with.'
Others called on politicians to take action.
Are we really at the point where American contractors can open fire on starving people—and we just shrug? No condemnation. No investigation. Where's Congress? To the world, we're just another mercenary force now. Don't kid yourself—there was another way. https://t.co/E7Vglj9LmQ — Adam N Weinstein (@AdamNoahWho) July 3, 2025
One user urged the leaders of the UK, Canada and France to respond to 'war crimes' by Israel, saying in 'the last last 20 months we've been absolutely inundated with many examples of them'.
'When are you going to act like leaders in the UN and do something?' they asked.
Others called for the GHF to be shut down.
'GHF no longer has ANY credibility. It has denied firing on civilians time and time again but it has been show to be true. GHF have repeatedly lied,' posted one user on X.
'They need to be shut down and proper aid practices put back in place.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
35 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
US consultancy firm involved in GHF aid scheme modelled plans to 'relocate' Palestinians
A consulting firm involved in the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation entered into a multimillion-dollar contract to develop the initiative and modelled a plan to "relocate" Palestinians from Gaza as part of its work, a Financial Times investigation has revealed. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) helped design and run the US and Israeli-backed scheme which aimed to supplant United Nations-led aid coordination mechanisms in Gaza. The chaotic roll out of the programme has seen 600 Palestinians killed and another 4,000 wounded by Israeli forces while attempting to access aid. The firm has disavowed its involvement in the project, claiming in a statement in June that it had initially provided "pro bono support" for the project, but two senior partners that led the work "failed to disclose" its full nature and had subsequently carried out "unauthorised work" on the project. It said that the partners have since been fired and an investigation has been launched into the firm's involvement in the scheme. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters But according to sources familiar with the project who spoke to the Financial Times, the BCG were more enmeshed with the scheme than the firm has publicly acknowledged, with the company contracted to perform $4m worth of work over a period of seven months. Over a dozen BCG staff worked directly on the project, dubbed "Aurora", between October and late May. Senior figures at the firm were reported to have discussed the initiative, but the BCG said they were misled about the scope and nature of the work by the partners helming the project. 'My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game' Read More » "The lead partner was categorically told no, and he violated this directive. We disavow this work," the BCG said. The work included financial modelling for the post-war reconstruction of Gaza, commissioned by Israeli backers, with one scenario envisioning the "voluntary relocation" of Palestinians from the enclave. This would have involved paying out "relocation packages" to 500,000 people worth $9,000 per person to induce people to leave the territory. The model assumed a quarter of Palestinians would opt to leave Gaza, with three-quarters of them unlikely to return. It estimated the cost of forced expulsion of Palestinians to be $23,000 cheaper, per Palestinian, than the costs of providing support to them in Gaza during reconstruction. According to BCG, this side of the operation was conducted without the knowledge of senior management and against their instructions. Involvement in security operations The revelations also raise questions about BCG's involvement in developing the security aspect of the initiative. According to sources familiar with the early stages of BCG's work on the initiative, the firm was initially contracted by Washington-based security contractor Orbis to develop a feasibility study for a new aid operation on behalf of the Tachlith Institute, an Israeli think tank. BCG was chosen for the project because of its connections with Phil Reilly, a 29-year veteran of the CIA who worked at Orbis. He was a senior adviser to BCG's defence practice where the two fired partners, Matt Schlueter and Ryan Ordway, worked. Middle East Eye previously reported that Reilly served as a senior adviser at BCG for eight years, and began discussing Gaza aid with Israeli civilians while still in his advisory role in early 2024. The BCG did not answer MEE's questions regarding its involvement in the security operations to support GHF, what role it had played with the foundation and who had asked the firm to get involved initially. Reilly dropped his advisory role with BCG and went on to found Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), a private military company which became the main security provider for the GHF. According to the report, half a dozen staff shifted to "more detailed business planning" for the SRS and GHF. This work was helmed by the US defence practice, while the initial pro-bono phase was billed to BCG's social impact practice helmed by Rich Hutchinson. Ex-CIA officer running Gaza aid security advised Boston Consulting Group Read More » By January, the BCG was contracted by McNally Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm which owns Orbis, to plan GHF's ground operations from Tel Aviv. The SRS signed an initial contract with the group worth over $1m to cover eight weeks of work to develop SRS's operations in Gaza, with travel approvals given by officials in BGC's risk management operation. The group told the Financial Times that it was "pleased to have supported the establishment of SRS as an important step toward meeting the full scope of the humanitarian need in Gaza". Funding sources for both GHF and SRS remain unclear. Both are registered in US tax havens, with scant details available in public records. A source previously told the Financial Times that the GHF had been pledged $100m from a country they refused to name. Reuters reported on Friday that UBS and Goldman Sachs declined to open bank accounts for the GHF, with the foundation's lack of transparency over its funding cited as being one of the main stumbling blocks in the discussions with the banks. A GHF spokesperson said it has "spoken about initial funding from Europe, but we don't disclose donors for their privacy". GHF's scheme has seen 400 aid distribution points across the enclave replaced by four militarised distribution sites, where millions are forced to risk death in the hope of receiving aid. Israeli troops have admitted to deliberately shooting and killing unarmed Palestinians waiting for aid in the Gaza Strip, following direct orders from their superiors.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Hamas wants guarantees from Trump and 'not anyone else' on Gaza ceasefire
Hamas is seeking personal guarantees from US President Donald Trump that the war in Gaza will come to a complete end as the main condition for a ceasefire with Israel, a senior official said on Saturday. 'We submitted our positive response to the mediators yesterday. A new round of negotiations is expected to begin, focusing on the core issues: Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war,' the Hamas official explained. 'The guarantees we are seeking must come from the Americans — President Trump personally, not anyone else,' he added. The US, Egypt and Qatar have proposed a 60-day ceasefire during which some Israeli hostages would be released. Hamas on Friday said it had given a 'positive response' to the proposal, four months after the previous agreement collapsed. The Hamas official said the deal currently on the table would see the group releasing 10 living Israeli hostages and returning the bodies of 18 others. Mr Trump had called it a "final proposal" and said he expected Hamas to answer within 24 hours. When told about the Hamas response by reporters aboard Air Force One he replied: "That's good. They haven't briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza." He said there "could be a Gaza deal" next week and that he was optimistic, although the situation "changes day to day". Points of contention The response by Hamas appeared not to signal an immediate end to hostilities, though. The group is seeking assurances from mediators that some additional demands will be met, sources told The National on Friday. The sources confirmed Hamas would convey its acceptance of the proposed deal along with a request for assurances from US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators about the implementation of some of its 'unpublicised' clauses. These include the return by Israel of the bodies of some of the group's leaders killed during the Gaza war, including Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed. The Hamas official pointed out several remaining points of contention that still need to be resolved. "For example, the Israelis don't want to withdraw; they want to talk about a redeployment. That's unacceptable. The wording needs to be clear on this point," he explained. 'Regarding aid distribution, the original text assigns the task to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but we requested it be amended to specify recognised UN agencies, such as UNRWA and others.' Other clauses cover the laying down and storing of the group's arms and the guaranteed return to Gaza of wounded Palestinians, who will be allowed under the deal to leave the strip for treatment abroad, sources close to the negotiations said. The clauses also include the creation of a 1km-deep safe zone on the Palestinian side of the entire Gaza-Israel border, which will be free of human habitation or any economic activity, including farming. According to these clauses, an unnamed Arab nation will supervise the storage of Hamas's weapons, and Israel will be prevented from excluding any area of Gaza from the distribution of badly needed humanitarian resistance. According to a two-page draft text obtained by The National on Friday, the handover of hostages and bodies will start on the first day of the truce and end on the final day. In return, Israel will release more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, including scores serving long terms. On the 10th day of the truce, Hamas is expected to provide 'comprehensive information' on the remaining hostages. In return, Israel will provide information on Palestinians it has detained since October 7, 2023, the day the Gaza war began with an attack on southern Israel communities by Hamas and its allies. Ramped up strikes The Hamas-led attacks prompted a devastating military assault by Israel that has so far killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza. The war has displaced the majority of the enclave's estimated two million population, with many having to flee more than once, and destroyed swathes of built-up areas. On Saturday, hours after Hamas said it delivered its "positive" response, Israel ramped up its assault on Gaza despite the ceasefire momentum. Medical sources and eyewitnesses reported heavy shelling and airstrikes targeting Rafah and Khan Younis in the south, Gaza city in the north, and central refugee camps. In Rafah, eight people were killed and more than 40 injured when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution site linked to the US-Israel Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). To the east, in Bani Suheila near Khan Younis, four more Palestinians were killed in an airstrike. Another strike on tents sheltering displaced families in Al-Mawasi, west of the city, killed seven and injured over ten. Gaza city also came under sustained attack. Artillery fire in the Zarqa area killed one person, while an Israeli strike on Al Shafii School in Zaytoun killed five and wounded several more. Rescue workers later recovered the bodies of two people killed in the Shujaiyya neighbourhood, and strikes on residential buildings caused further casualties. In central Gaza, Israeli drones targeted homes in Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi refugee camps, killing at least four and injuring others.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Hamas wants Trump's guarantee that ceasefire deal will end Gaza war
Saturday's death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises past 35 Trump says there 'could be a Gaza deal' next week Hamas gives 'positive' answer to Gaza ceasefire plan Saudi Arabia says achieving Gaza ceasefire is its priority At least 57,130 Palestinians killed and 135,173 wounded since Gaza war began
