US security contractor writes anonymous op-ed decrying Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

An American security contractor working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says the new aid initiative is plagued with problems and is not properly serving Palestinians.

The man — whose op-ed is anonymously published by the far-left Zeteo news site — says he is one of the hundreds of people hired by UG Solutions, one of the two American contractors working with GHF.

He says contractors were given very little information and training before being sent into Gaza.

“If you’re here to get your gun on, then pack your shit and go home, because that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to help,” he recalls being told during a briefing in Washington before they departed for Israel.

The contractors were given various lethal and non-lethal weapons but no one was tested to ensure proper training and no instructions were given for when to use them before they were sent into Gaza, he says. The anonymous contractor also says they didn’t receive cultural awareness training, even though some had never been deployed to the Mideast before.

While the American contractors were told they’d be working 12-hour shifts for four days before taking two days off, they’ve ended up working 20-hour shifts with no days off and are all sleep-deprived, he says.

The contractor recalls the chaos of the first full day of aid distribution on May 27, when GHF’s site was completely overrun.

“It was not organized, and people were getting smushed and trampled. Eventually, there were so many people in the lanes that the gates burst,” he writes. “They were only trying to get aid — aid, by the way, that consisted of flour, rice, lentils, tea bags, and noodles; things that need water. They don’t have any water. And we’re not giving out water.”

Despite assertions to the contrary by the IDF and GHF, the contractor says the Israeli army is very involved in the operation. The IDF has offices inside the GHF compounds and shares radio communications with GHF, he says.

“I went into this pretty open-minded. I don’t have a side. I despise human suffering, and I hate that it exists. I was just hoping to be helpful. But I don’t think we are. What we — these American companies and contract personnel — are doing is directly leading to more pain, suffering, and death for the Palestinians in Gaza,” he writes.