US Green Beret Veteran Tony Aguilar Details the Shocking War Crimes He’s Witnessing in Gaza

Colonel Aguilar, a retired U.S. Army Green Beret with 25 years of combat experience and multiple deployments, recently worked with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) from May to June 2025 to help distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza. (GHF is a business!) His firsthand experience reveals a grim and harrowing reality of the Gaza Strip, describing it as a post-apocalyptic war zone devastated by relentless violence and severe deprivation. Aguilar highlights the failure and mismanagement of the current humanitarian aid system in Gaza, which replaced the United Nations’ aid delivery after a blockade shut off the enclave. The GHF operates only four aid distribution sites, all located dangerously close to active Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) combat zones, far from the majority of Gaza’s population concentrated in the north and central areas.

Aguilar exposes systemic issues including inadequate aid delivery, starvation, and the dehumanizing treatment of Palestinian civilians by the IDF, which includes shooting at unarmed crowds to control them during aid distributions. He provides a poignant account of a young boy named Amir, who was emaciated and killed by IDF gunfire after attempting to get food. Aguilar accuses the GHF leadership, particularly its director Johnny Moore, of lacking transparency, humanitarian expertise, and accountability. He warns that the foundation’s operation exacerbates suffering and starvation, while U.S. taxpayers unknowingly fund an ineffective and potentially criminal system.

Throughout the interview, Aguilar condemns violations of international humanitarian laws and Geneva Conventions by both the IDF and the aid distribution mechanisms. He stresses the moral and legal obligation of the United States to cease funding GHF, reinstate the UN aid system, and demand accountability. Aguilar also appeals to Israel and the IDF to uphold human dignity despite the trauma caused by Hamas attacks, emphasizing that dehumanizing the civilian population violates both law and shared human values. His testimony serves as a call to action for greater transparency, ethical leadership, and compliance with international law in the delivery of aid and conduct of warfare in Gaza.

Key Insights

•  Credibility through Combat Experience: Aguilar’s 25 years in the U.S. Army, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other conflict zones, lend significant credibility to his observations in Gaza. His ability to interpret chaotic combat environments provides a rare, expert perspective on the humanitarian crisis, distinguishing his testimony from politically motivated narratives. This background allows him to identify violations of the laws of armed conflict with precision and authority.

•  Gaza’s Devastation Exceeds Other War Zones: Aguilar compares Gaza’s destruction to a post-apocalyptic scene, surpassing even the ravaged landscapes he witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This highlights the unprecedented scale of violence and infrastructure collapse, which complicates the delivery of humanitarian aid and exacerbates civilian suffering. The physical devastation is not just collateral damage but reflects a systematic and severe assault on civilian life and dignity.

• ️ Inadequate and Misplaced Aid Distribution: The GHF’s operation of only four aid sites — three clustered in the southern Gaza combat zones and one in central Gaza near Israeli tanks — is grossly insufficient. Before the blockade, there were 400 aid sites serving the population. This drastic reduction means the majority of Gaza’s population, especially in the north, remains isolated and starving. This tactical misplacement of aid centers within active combat zones not only endangers civilians but violates international humanitarian principles that protect aid distribution from military use and proximity to fighting.

•  Indiscriminate Use of Force by IDF Against Civilians: The IDF’s use of machine guns, mortars, tank rounds, and shooting at the feet or over the heads of civilians to control crowds at aid sites constitutes excessive and indiscriminate force. The chaotic scenes Aguilar describes — thousands of starving civilians walking up to 12 kilometers to reach aid, then being shot at during distribution — illustrate a fundamental disregard for civilian protection under the Geneva Conventions. This behavior results in preventable civilian casualties and reflects a breakdown of discipline and leadership within IDF reserve forces.

•  Human Cost Personified by Amir’s Story: The story of Amir, a young boy emaciated and killed after seeking food at a distribution site, personalizes the broader humanitarian crisis. Aguilar’s direct interaction with Amir — including the boy’s gesture of respect and his ultimate death — underscores the human tragedy behind the statistics. This narrative challenges political denials and propaganda, emphasizing the tangible consequences of military and aid distribution failures on innocent civilians, especially children.

•  Lack of Transparency and Accountability in GHF: Aguilar exposes the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as an opaque organization led by individuals with little to no humanitarian expertise, including a Christian Zionist leader with political ambitions. The foundation’s refusal to disclose funding sources, operational details, or allow independent inspections raises serious concerns over the misuse of funds and efficacy. The departure of key personnel citing unethical practices further signals systemic dysfunction and corruption, undermining the legitimacy of the aid mission.

• ⚖️ Call for U.S. Government Action and Accountability: Aguilar strongly urges the U.S. government to cease funding the GHF and reinstate the UN’s aid mechanism, which had the capacity to serve the entire Gaza population effectively and transparently. He stresses the legal and moral imperative to uphold international humanitarian law and hold both the IDF and aid operators accountable for violations. His appeal highlights how continued U.S. complicity in this flawed system tarnishes American values and global credibility. The interview calls for urgent policy reconsideration to protect Palestinian civilians and restore lawful humanitarian aid.