Gaza aid contractor tells BBC he saw colleagues fire on hungry Palestinians

A erstwhile information contractor for Gaza's arguable caller Israel- and US-backed assistance organisation sites has told the BBC that helium witnessed colleagues opening occurrence respective times connected bare Palestinians who had posed nary threat, including with instrumentality guns.

On 1 occasion, helium said, a defender had opened occurrence from a watchtower with a instrumentality weapon due to the fact that a radical of women, children and aged radical was moving excessively dilatory distant from the site.

When asked to respond the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the allegations were categorically false.

They referred america to a connection saying that nary civilians ever came nether occurrence astatine the GHF organisation sites.

The GHF began its operations successful Gaza astatine the extremity of May, distributing constricted assistance from respective sites successful confederate and cardinal Gaza. That followed an 11-week full blockade of Gaza by Israel during which nary nutrient entered the territory.

The strategy has been wide criticised for forcing immense numbers of radical to locomotion done progressive combat zones to a fistful of sites. Since the GHF started up, Israeli forces person killed much than 400 Palestinians trying to retrieve nutrient assistance from its sites, the UN and section doctors say. Israel says the caller organisation strategy stops assistance going to Hamas.

Continuing his statement of the incidental astatine 1 of the GHF sites - successful which helium said guards fired connected a radical of Palestinians - the erstwhile contractor said: "As that happened, different contractor connected location, lasting connected the berm overlooking the exit, opened up with 15 to 20 shots of repetitive weapons occurrence astatine the crowd.

"A Palestinian antheral dropped to the crushed motionless. And past the different contractor who was lasting determination was like, 'damn, I deliberation you got one'. And past they laughed astir it."

The contractor, who spoke to america connected information of anonymity, said GHF managers had brushed disconnected his study arsenic a coincidence, suggesting that the Palestinian antheral could person "tripped" oregon been "tired and passed out".

The GHF claimed the erstwhile contractor who made these allegations is simply a "disgruntled erstwhile contractor" who they had terminated for misconduct, which helium denies. He showed america payslips suggesting that helium continued to beryllium paid for 2 weeks aft leaving the post.

The antheral we spoke to, who said helium had worked astatine each 4 of the GHF organisation sites, described a civilization of impunity with fewer rules oregon controls.

He said contractors were fixed nary wide rules of engagement oregon modular operating procedures, and were told by 1 squad leader: "if you consciousness threatened, sprout – sprout to termination and inquire questions later".

The civilization successful the company, helium said, felt similar "we're going into Gaza truthful it's nary rules. Do what you want."

"If a Palestinian is walking distant from the tract and not demonstrating immoderate hostile intent, and we're shooting informing shots astatine them regardless, we are wrong, we are criminally negligent," helium told me.

He told america that each tract had tract CCTV monitoring enactment there, and GHF insistence that nary 1 determination had been wounded oregon changeable astatine was "an implicit bare-faced lie".

GHF said that gunfire heard successful footage shared with the BBC was coming from Israeli forces.

Team leaders referred to Gazans arsenic "zombie hordes", the contractor told me, "insinuating that these radical person nary value."

The erstwhile contractor besides said Palestinians were coming to harm successful different ways astatine GHF sites, for illustration by being deed by debris from stun grenades, being sprayed with mace oregon being pushed by the crowds into razor wire.

He said helium himself had witnessed respective occasions successful which Palestinians appeared to person been earnestly hurt, including 1 antheral who had a afloat tin of capsicum spray successful his face, and a pistillate who helium says was deed with the metallic portion of a stun grenade, improperly fired into a crowd.

"This metallic portion deed her straight successful the caput and she dropped to the ground, not moving," helium said. "I don't cognize if she was dead. I cognize for a information she was unconscious and wholly limp."

Earlier this week much than 170 charities and different NGOs called for the GHF to beryllium unopen down. The organisations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, accidental Israeli forces and equipped groups "routinely" unfastened occurrence connected Palestinians seeking aid.

Israel denies its soldiers deliberately sprout astatine assistance recipients and says the GHF's strategy provides nonstop assistance to radical who request it, bypassing Hamas interference.

The GHF says it had delivered much than 52 cardinal meals successful 5 weeks and that different organisations "stand by helplessly arsenic their assistance is looted".

The Israeli subject launched a run successful Gaza successful effect to Hamas's 7 October 2023 onslaught connected Israel, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At slightest 57,130 radical person been killed successful Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry.

Additional reporting by Gidi Kleiman and Samantha Granville