Live Update arrow right icon From the Liveblog of Wednesday, July 16, 2025

GHF publishes photo of man who it claims has Hamas ties, says he threatened medic at aid site crush

By Jacob Magid 16 July 2025, 8:41 pm
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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation publishes photos of a man who it says “is believed to be affiliated with Hamas” and who supposedly threatened one of the American organization’s medics during this morning’s deadly crush of Palestinian aid seekers at its distribution site in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

GHF also publishes a photo of what it says is one of the pistols that was recovered after this morning’s deadly crush that left 20 people dead. It doesn’t specify whether the pistol belongs to the unnamed Palestinian in the separately released photo.

During a briefing with reporters, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay says the man was previously identified at other distribution sites in June.

Aid seekers in the crowd warned the American medic contracted by GHF that the suspect had a pistol. The medic tried to tackle the suspect, but the man managed to flee, while another Hamas affiliate stabbed the medic with an ice pick-like weapon, Fay says, adding that the medic suffered puncture wounds and likely broken ribs.

“Hamas continuously visits the aid sites, hiding within the crowd to conceal themselves,” Fay says, without providing corroborating evidence to support this assertion.

Fay does reveal that the IDF provided the aid organization with an assessment that Hamas might try and carry out an attack on a distribution site today.

The GHF spokesperson says that the group’s personnel only fired gunshots one time during today’s stampede — an American security contractor spotted a Palestinian child being crushed by the crowd and fired warning shots in the air to disperse the crowd in order to extract the boy. Pepper spray was also employed by GHF contractors, but not tear gas, Fay asserts.

While the GHF spokesperson blamed Hamas for the continued chaos at its distribution sites, critics of the American group have argued that its mechanism is inherently flawed by forcing Gazans to walk long distances and cross IDF lines — coming under repeated deadly IDF fire — in order to pick up aid.

Footage from over the weekend showed Gazans ducking for cover outside a GHF site, as Israeli gunfire could be seen and heard in the background.

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