US Guards Called Gaza Refugees 'Zombie Hordes', Shot At Them: Report
Palestine refugees in search of food and aid were fired upon by guards working for a United States- based aid agency called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - part of an Israel-supported aid distribution agency - security sub-contractors told the Associated Press and British broadcaster BBC.
An ex-contractor told BBC guards tasked with protecting the aid distribution sites fired stun grenades and live rounds, including from a machine gun, at elderly people, women, and children - none of whom were armed or posed a threat - because they were 'moving too slowly away from the site'.
Some guards referred to the refugees as ' zombie hordes ', the ex-contractor claimed.
Asked to respond by the BBC, the Foundation, which began its Gaza operations in end-May, firmly denied these reports, and said no civilian had ever been fired upon at its aid distribution sites
Sub-contractors also spoke to the Associated Press, which said it held eyewitness interviews, reviewed internal documents, and verified video footage before concluding also that 'live ammunition, stun grenades' were used on 'desperate Palestinian civilians trying to receive humanitarian aid'.
Those who spoke to AP said the guards, many of whom were underqualified and heavily armed, displayed 'reckless and dangerous behaviour'.
Desperately seeking food – starving Palestinians 🇵🇸 instead are met with live ammunition and stun grenades at the US 🇺🇸 Israeli 🇮🇱 GHF aid distribution center
This video obtained by the Associated Press is the first time footage has been leaked from the contractors working at… https://t.co/HSLfcmjKlk pic.twitter.com/jexLZmvLq7
— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) July 3, 2025
AP said video footage from the aid sites showed 'civilians crammed between metal gates at aid sites amid gunfire, shouting, and explosions of flashbangs'; in one video, AP said, a man shouted "I think you hit someone!" after firing 15 rounds, followed by another responding "Hell, yeah, dude!"
The video in question was shared on X by Saad Abedine, a journalist with Al Jazeera.
'Categorically False': GHF Denies Claim
In response to the AP story the GHF posted an extensive statement on X in which it said it had launched "an immediate investigation" that found the claims to be "categorically false".
"The gunfire heard in the video was confirmed to have originated from the IDF (the Israeli military, the Israel Defence Force), which was outside the immediate vicinity of the GHF distribution site. It was not directed at individuals, and no one was shot or injured," the Foundation said.
GHF statement in response to recent reporting from the Associated Press:
'GHF launched an immediate investigation when the Associated Press first brought these allegations to our attention. Based on time-stamped video footage and sworn witness statements, we have concluded that…
— Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (@GHFUpdates) July 3, 2025
The GHF also complained AP had refused to share the video footage it had reviewed.
"The primary source for the story is a disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct weeks before this article was published. That fact, combined with the AP's refusal to engage in good faith prior to publication, undermines the credibility of their reporting."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Safe Reach Solutions, the security and logistics company subcontracted by GHF, told the AP there have been no serious injuries at any of their sites to date. SRS also said its 'security professionals fired live rounds... away from civilians to get their attention'.
'Slaughter Masquerading As Aid'
The GHF has been heavily criticised by over 150 charitable organisations, including Oxfam, after reports that over 500 refugees have been killed since it began functioning.
Amnesty International, in a searing indictment of the GHF, said the it " does not adhere to core humanitarian standards and principles".
Amnesty pointed out that 400 aid points set up earlier had been shut down and replaced by four "military-controlled" sites that force over two million refugees into "overcrowded, militarised zones".
Doctors Without Borders, the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize-winning medical aid agency, called the GHF's aid sites "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid".
Reports of Palestinian refugees being shot at while they line up for aid are not new; last month The New York Times said Israeli soldiers fired at crowds walking towards a food centre.
The Red Cross and the Gaza Health Ministry said 27 people were killed.
The day before 23 died at another aid centre.
On that occasion the GHF acknowledged civilians had been killed, but said it was because they had strayed from a 'safe corridor' specified by the Israeli military. The IDF said it had opened fire, starting with a few 'warning' shots before claiming the refugees as 'posing a threat' and then killing them.
But in a report by Israeli news outlet Haaretz, cited by Al Jazeera, some soldiers had been ordered to shoot at refugees at aid points, an allegation that, if true, means Tel Aviv committed war crimes.
The israeli government has ordered an investigation into the Haaretz story.
Gaza's Health Ministry, cited in an Al Jazeera report, said Thursday that at least 118 Palestinians had been killed in 24 hours, and 33 of those deaths had been reported from aid sites run by the GHF.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Based in Delaware in the US, the GHF is a private organisation that claims to have delivered over 52 million meal boxes in five weeks while other aid agencies remain 'helpless because their aid is looted'.
NDTV Exclusive |
The Foundation reportedly runs four aid sites in Gaza at this time, including three in the south.
Israel says it supports but does not control the activities of the GHF, which has faced internal turmoil since the start. In end-May, days before it was to begin work, its head, Jake Wood, quit.
A former US military veteran, Wood said, "I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people...however, it is clear it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality..."
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