Identified only as Mike, the witness said he had been tasked with cleaning up animal and human remains at one of the GHF sites.
Israeli occupation troops and foreign military contractors are both responsible for firing indiscriminately at starving Palestinians at or near aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the besieged enclave, a witness has told CBS News.
Identified only as Mike, for fear of reprisals, the witness said he was hired by an American logistics company to drive aid trucks in Israel, unaware that he would be working with the GHF in Gaza.
EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was established to replace the United Nations as the main distributor of aid. In late June, the U.S. State Department approved $30 million for the group, calling its work “absolutely incredible.”
But according… pic.twitter.com/odDtGuqWqw
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) August 21, 2025
CBS aired videos secretly recorded by Mike at brightly lit GHF sites in which continuous gunfire can be heard.
“It took me two or three days to realize that they were actually shooting at people,” Mike said, “they weren’t shooting at combatants.”
‘Indiscriminate’ Gunfire
He said the gunfire was not warning shots, but “indiscriminate,” carried out by “the IDF (Israeli Army – PC) and American security personnel.”
They have “positions on each corner of the sites and they would often shoot at exactly the same time as the Israeli soldiers,” Mike explained.
Video obtained by Reuters shows a child fleeing gunfire near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution site.
The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to get aid in Gaza — most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. pic.twitter.com/d7ps3hVNoB
— DW News (@dwnews) August 5, 2025
According to CBS, Mike said he was at the sites on average five days a week for several weeks and that there was not a single occasion he observed when there was no shooting.
More than 2,000 Palestinians seeking aid have been shot and killed at or near GHF aid sites since it was launched at the end of May, the latest figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry indicate. At the same time, 15,197 aid seekers have been injured.
‘Cleaning Up Human Remains’
Asked what was the worst experience he had during his time in Gaza, Mike said it was when he was “tasked with cleaning up the remains of animals and some humans.”
“What had happened is that there had been so much shooting that human remains had been left there and the smell got quite bad,” he stated, adding that the security contractors had complained and the Israeli army “said it wasn’t their business.”
‘Not Aid, Orchestrated Killing’ – MSF Demands Immediate Dismantling of GHF
“So I was tasked with cleaning it, but I wasn’t warned what it was,” he continued. The remains, he said, were “put it in the back of a truck, which took everything away.”
Mike said the American contractors “would often boast about how many people they’ve killed, if they’ve managed to shoot animals, or how many birds they’d shot because they were bragging about how good their aim was.”
CBS reported that GHF denied that their contractors fire on civilians, or that anyone has been killed by gunfire at a GHF site,” or even within sight of a foundation site.”
The Israeli army also denied that its troops fire at civilians at the aid sites and claimed it was investigating “reports of harm to civilians,” the report added.
‘Death Traps’
Last month, a retired US soldier who worked as a mercenary at GHF aid distribution sites in Gaza said he witnessed a five-year-old Palestinian boy being shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who fired on aid seekers.
Anthony Aguilar said the GHF sites were designed to be “death traps.”
“They 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,” he stated.
‘Amir Walked 12km to Get Food’ and Was Shot – US Mercenary on Gaza ‘Death Traps’
The US and Israeli-backed GHF aid scheme, launched at the end of May, has been widely condemned by human rights organizations and the UN, which warned that the “weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law.”
Other Whistleblowers
A report by the Associated Press also revealed that American contractors guarding GHF sites are facing serious allegations of using live ammunition, stun grenades, and other aggressive crowd control tactics against starving Palestinians seeking food.
Two contractors working for UG Solutions, a US-based firm subcontracted to provide security at the GHF sites, came forward anonymously to describe what they called “dangerous and irresponsible” practices.
AP Reveals Armed Contractors Fired on Starving Gazans at US-Backed Aid Sites
They said unqualified and heavily armed guards regularly fired weapons—often without provocation—while distributing aid to desperate civilians in Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza.
The AP reviewed video footage and internal documentation provided by the whistleblowers.
Biometric System Slammed
Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security warned on Wednesday of a new system launched by the GHF that collects information and personal photos of Palestinians in order for them to receive aid.
Database for Food: Palestinians Forced into Biometric Aid Scheme amid Mass Killings
In a statement, the ministry called on Palestinians in Gaza not to respond to any requests for personal information or photos from the GHF.
The GHF announced on Monday the implementation of “a new system” to distribute aid to starving Palestinians that requires families to “reserve aid in advance.”
“Those who opt to participate will have their photo taken and receive an ID card with their photo and a unique number,” the organization said in a statement.
Earlier this month, UN experts, including Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, condemned the GHF as “an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
The IDF is full of savages who shoot children. All Israeli Jewish Nazis are murderous sociopaths, yet my US government keeps giving them our money and weapons. And where are those US ‘ contractors ‘ from? Which maximum security prison were they released from? Which street gang? What group of thugs from which inner city? Which 3-letter acronym that they, Can’t ImplicAte is their employer?
Assuming that the US court system hasn’t yet been fatally compromised by the MAGAts, there is a US law, the Alien Torts Statute, which might be of use, to sue UG Solutions and any other such mercenary companies into bankruptcy.
A good idea but the US court system has already been fatally compromised long be for MAGA existed. Alien Torts Statue (and many others) are designed at US’s enemies du jour, never US State, I reckon.
was investigating “reports of harm to civilians,” — that lame fig leaf has long been worn out. “investigating”, “reports of harm to civilians”, and now “ceasefire”: the US and “Israel”, when they use these words, it means “Fuck Off”. Excellent essay by Prof. Ahmad (https://www.palestinechronicle.com/from-gaza-to-kashmir-americas-ceasefire-circus/)
This is getting bad – optic, wise – for the GHF: GHF whistleblower Anthony Aguilar (https://www.palestinechronicle.com/without-a-doubt-former-us-officer-tells-bbc-he-witnessed-war-crimes-in-gaza/), 2 from the AP (https://www.palestinechronicle.com/ap-reveals-armed-contractors-fired-on-starving-gazans-at-us-backed-aid-sites/), and now the CBS! UNRWA now!!