By Ephraim Agbo
Sometimes, silence isn't neutral. It's deadly.
And now, someone from inside the Gaza aid operation is finally speaking out.
Since the end of May, over 400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed near so-called humanitarian aid sites in Gaza—sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) under an Israeli-backed distribution plan. These were meant to bring relief. Instead, they’ve become yet another front line in a war that never ends.
But behind the high fences, the barbed wire, and the bulletproof vests, one security contractor saw something he could no longer live with.
So, he spoke to the BBC—and what he shared is chilling.
🧍♂️ "I Watched Them Shoot into the Crowd"
The man, whose identity is protected for his safety, worked as a private security guard at one of the Gaza aid centers. What he witnessed wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t chaos. It was intentional violence.
He described a moment at Site 4, where a crowd of hungry, tired civilians—men, women, even children—was slowly dispersing after collecting aid.
“Then came the machine gun fire,” he said.
“First from the watchtower, then over 20 rounds from a guard nearby. I saw someone drop to the ground. He didn’t move again.”
What came next? Not horror. Not remorse.
“Another contractor said, ‘Damn, I think you got one,’ and they laughed.
They laughed.”
Let that sink in.
💣 "If You Feel Threatened, Shoot. Shoot to Kill."
This wasn’t just a rogue moment. According to the whistle-blower, it was part of a culture of cruelty that infected the entire operation.
Team leaders—some hired from elite military backgrounds—didn’t hand out humanitarian handbooks. Instead, they gave this advice:
“If you feel threatened—shoot. Shoot to kill. Ask questions later.”
Palestinians, he said, were called the "zombie horde" in briefings. There were no rules of engagement. No clear lines between threat and desperation. Just fear, prejudice, and bullets.
He even recalled a woman who was unconscious and bleeding, thrown onto a donkey cart after being hit with a stone grenade—a non-lethal weapon used carelessly and cruelly.
And when he tried to report these incidents?
“They told me maybe the guy I saw shot just fainted.
Maybe he tripped. Maybe he was tired.
I know what I saw.”
🚫 GHF Denies Everything
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has called all of this categorically false. They say their staff are trained. That no civilians have ever been harmed at their sites. That any gunfire came from Israeli forces—not them.
But the whistle-blower says they’re lying—plain and simple.
“They’ve seen the videos. They know.
They just don’t want the world to know.”
And according to an internal report obtained by the BBC, he’s not wrong:
In one 12-day period, nearly 30% of civilians at GHF sites were hurt while trying to collect food and water.
❌ A System Designed to Fail?
Let’s be clear: Gaza is in ruins. People are starving. The old UN-backed aid system—flawed as it was—at least tried to get food to people through trusted, neutral channels.
This new Israeli-approved method?
It forces thousands of desperate civilians to walk through active war zones to reach heavily militarized checkpoints for aid.
Aid groups around the world—Red Cross, Save the Children, and more—have slammed the system as dangerous, negligent, and inhumane.
And now, someone who worked inside it is telling us it’s even worse than we feared.
🧠 A Question That Cuts Deep
From his post in Freetown, humanitarian doctor Kai Song asked the question many are now thinking:
“Why not let the trusted, neutral institutions do the job?
Why this chaos, this danger, this bloodshed—around food?”
The answer from Israel is that Hamas exploited previous aid systems.
But should that justify turning food distribution into a battlefield?
💬 Final Thoughts
Let’s be honest—this story hurts to write.
Because no one should be shot while reaching for bread.
No one should lose a loved one in a line for clean water.
And no aid worker should be told that "shooting first" is part of the job.
But until someone inside spoke up, the world kept looking away.
Now, we’ve heard the truth. And truth demands a response.
From leaders. From aid agencies. From all of us.
Because if even food becomes a weapon in this war, then what hope is left?
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