{"id":11726,"date":"2025-07-03T10:21:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T02:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11726"},"modified":"2025-07-03T10:21:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T02:21:04","slug":"takeaways-from-aps-report-into-claims-of-excessive-force-by-american-contractors-at-gaza-aid-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11726","title":{"rendered":"Takeaways from AP\u2019s report into claims of excessive force by American contractors at Gaza aid sites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press. Here\u2019s a breakdown of what to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story Two U.S. contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were revealing their employers\u2019 internal operations, said they were coming forward because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous and irresponsible practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The testimonies from the contractors \u2014 combined with the videos, internal reports and text messages obtained by the AP \u2014 offer a rare glimpse inside the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the newly created American organization backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip\u2019s population. Last month, the U.S. government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operations \u2014 the first known U.S. donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Journalists have been unable to access the GHF sites, located in Israeli military-controlled zones. The AP cannot independently verify the contractors\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaza\u2019s more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. For 2 1\/2 months before GHF\u2019s opening in May, Israel blocked all food, water and medicine from entering Gaza, claiming Hamas was stealing the aid being transported under a preexisting system coordinated by the United Nations. It now wants GHF to replace that U.N. system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is GHF? GHF is an American organization, registered in Delaware and established in February to distribute humanitarian aid during the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis. Since the GHF sites began operating more than a month ago, Palestinians say Israeli troops open fire almost every day toward crowds on roads heading to the distribution points, through Israeli military zones. Several hundred people have been killed and hundreds more wounded, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry and witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response, Israel\u2019s military says it fires only warning shots and is investigating reports of civilian harm. It denies deliberately shooting at any civilians and says it\u2019s examining how to reduce \u201cfriction with the population\u201d in the areas surrounding the distribution centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What did AP document at the aid sites? AP spoke to the two contractors for UG Solutions, an American outfit subcontracted to hire security personnel for the distribution sites. They said bullets, stun grenades and pepper spray were used at nearly every distribution, even if there was no threat. Videos of aid being dispensed at the sites seen by the AP appear to back up the frenetic scenes the contractors described. The footage was taken within the first two weeks of its distributions \u2014 about halfway into the operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In videos furnished by the contractor, men in grey uniforms \u2014 colleagues, he said \u2014 can be seen trying to clear Palestinians who are squeezed into a narrow, fenced-in passage leading to one of the centers. The men fire pepper spray and throw stun grenades that detonate amid the crowd. The sound of gunfire can be heard. In one video, what appear to be heavily armed American security contractors at one of the sites in Gaza discuss how to disperse Palestinians nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Bursts of gunfire erupt close by, at least 15 shots. \u201cWhoo! Whoo!\u201d one contractor yelps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think you hit one,\u201d one says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then comes a shout: \u201cHell, yeah, boy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The camera\u2019s view is obscured by a large dirt mound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contractor who took the video told AP that he saw other contractors shooting in the direction of Palestinians who had just collected their food and were departing. The men shot both from a tower above the site and from atop the mound, he said. The shooting began because contractors wanted to disperse the crowd, he said, but it was unclear why they continued shooting as people were walking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The camera does not show who was shooting or what was being shot at. But the contractor who filmed it said he watched another contractor fire at the Palestinians and then saw a man about 60 yards (meters) away \u2014 in the same direction where the bullets were fired \u2014 drop to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This happened at the same time the men were heard talking \u2014 effectively egging each other on, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for Safe Reach Solutions, the logistics company subcontracted by GHF, told the AP that there have been no serious injuries at any of their sites to date. In scattered incidents, security professionals fired live rounds into the ground and away from civilians to get their attention. That happened in the early days at the \u201cthe height of desperation where crowd control measures were necessary for the safety and security of civilians,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How were the videos verified? To confirm the footage is from the sites, AP geolocated them videos using aerial imagery. The AP also had the videos analyzed by two audio forensic experts who said they could identify live ammunition \u2014 including machine-gun fire \u2014 coming from the sites, in most cases within 50 to 60 meters of the camera\u2019s microphone. GHF says the Israeli military is not deployed at the aid distribution sites. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said the army is not stationed at the sites or within their immediate proximity, especially during operating hours. He said they\u2019re run by an American company and have their own security. SRS says that Hamas has openly threatened its aid workers and civilians receiving aid. It did not specify where people were threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cameras monitor food distributions According to the contractor who took the videos, the Israeli army is leveraging the distribution system to access information. 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 contractor who took the videos said some cameras are equipped with facial recognition software. In live shots of the sites seen by the AP, some videos streams are labeled \u201canalytics\u201d \u2014 those were the ones that had the facial recognition software, said the contractor. The AP could not independently verify his information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SRS denied gathering intelligence and said it has never used biometrics. An Israeli security official who was not named in line with the army\u2019s protocol, said there are no security screening systems developed or operated by the army within the aid sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Training and expertise are at issue The rollout of UG Solutions\u2019 operations was jumbled and lacked leadership, the two contractors told the AP. Each contractor was equipped with a pistol, stun grenades, tear gas and an Israeli-made automatic rifle capable of firing dozens of rounds within seconds, said the contractor who took the videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for the GHF said there are people with a \u201cvested interest\u201d in seeing it fail and are willing to do or say almost anything to make that happen. The spokesperson said the team is composed of seasoned humanitarian, logistics and security professionals with deep experience on the ground. The group says it has distributed the equivalent of more than 50 million meals in Gaza in its food boxes of staples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for UG Solutions, Drew O\u2019Brien, said UG has an extensive recruiting and training process, including \u201ca detailed application process, screening by experts, reference checks, background checks and weapons proficiency.\u201d The group said it prides itself on repeated quality control checks once missions are underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press. Here\u2019s a breakdown of what to know. The storyTwo U.S. contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were revealing their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3116,3456,2035],"class_list":["post-11726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-ap","tag-contractors","tag-they"],"yoast_head":"\n
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