US contractors guarding Gaza aid sites admit to firing live ammo at hungry Palestinians
Two American contractors told the AP on condition of anonymity that their colleagues regularly use stun grenades, pepper spray and bullets against aid-seekers. 'There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,' one of them said.
Thousands of starving Palestinians typically gather near the sites. The scenes have been chaotic, turning deadly as people rush when gunfire is heard.
The American staff work with the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), guarding its aid distribution centres that have been the site of several deadly incidents and controversy. The AP said it spoke to contractors for UG Solutions, subcontracted to hire security personnel for the sites.
A spokesman for UG Solutions, Drew O'Brien, said UG has an extensive recruiting and training process. Meanwhile, a representative for the GHF said there are people with a 'vested interest' in seeing it fail and are willing to do or say almost anything to make that happen, AP reported.
The GHF opened sites around the enclave in May, secured by a private security force and Israeli troops, to prevent the alleged Hamas looting. The deadly incidents near the site have raised further questions about whether the militarised aid initiative can deliver food supplies safely. AP's report is the latest in a series of accounts revealing harrowing details.
A report published by Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Friday said Israeli commanders ordered troops to fire at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear the people posed no threat. The Israeli military admitted civilians had been 'harmed' near GHF distribution points, saying there were 'lessons learnt'.
Israeli authorities have previously denied soldiers fired directly at desperate civilians seeking aid at GHF sites.
At least 549 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food aid near the GHF distribution centres since they began operating late in May, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The AP said videos taken at the site, obtained from the contractors, showed hundreds of Palestinians 'crowded between metal gates, jostling for aid amid the sound of bullets, stun grenades and the sting of pepper spray'. Other videos were said to include men speaking in English about how to disperse the crowds 'and encouraging each other after bursts of gunfire'.
In an email from May shared with the AP by a third party, one high-ranking contractor wrote to the head of UG Solutions and called the operation 'amateur hour'. He wrote that the sites did not have enough staff or resources making them 'not sustainable' and 'not safe', according to the email, seen by the AP.
The outlet said it geolocated the videos received and analysed them with two forensic experts who identified live ammunition, including machine-gun fire, coming from the sites.
'According to the contractor who took the videos, the Israeli army is leveraging the distribution system to access information,' the report said. 'Both contractors said that cameras monitor distributions at each site and that American analysts and Israeli soldiers sit in a control room where the footage is screened in real time.'
The GHF has said the Israeli army is not posted at the distribution sites.
The UN and international NGOs have refused to work with the GHF. Last week, in an apparent reference to the GHF, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said any operation that funnels desperate civilians seeking aid into militarised zones in Gaza is 'inherently unsafe', and 'is killing people'.
More than 160 charities and NGOs have issued a joint call for the GHF to close.
The Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) said in a notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Wednesday that it could order the dissolution of the GHF unless creditors come forward in 30 days.
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