American contractors guarding US-funded aid distribution centers in Gaza have reportedly fired live ammunition and deployed stun grenades and pepper spray as Palestinians scrambled for food, according to confidential accounts and video obtained by The Associated Press.
AP reported that two US contractors, speaking anonymously to protect their employment, said they were alarmed by what they described as an unregulated and dangerous environment. They accused poorly vetted, heavily armed security personnel of treating civilians like combative crowds—firing shots into the air, the ground, and sometimes toward Palestinians. One contractor recalled believing someone had been struck. “There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,” he said.
The contractors said US staff were monitoring aid seekers and identifying those deemed “suspicious,” sharing that information with the Israeli military. Video excerpts show large groups of Palestinians crammed behind metal barricades as contractors shout orders, punctuated by gunfire, stun grenades, and the sting of pepper spray. In one clip, voices calmly urge colleagues on after bursts of gunfire. In another, a man behind a barricade says, “You tasting that pepper spray? Yuck.”
According to the report, the accounts and videos offer a rare glimpse into the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a newly established American aid agency supported by Israel. The US has pledged $30 million to the group—its first known contribution—but funding sources otherwise remain largely undisclosed.
Access to these sites, located within Israeli-controlled zones, has been restricted to journalists, and while The AP cannot independently verify the contractors’ claims, forensic audio analysis confirmed gunfire—some resembling machine-gun bursts—originating from positions near aid distribution lines.
A spokesperson for Safe Reach Solutions, the logistics company hired to operate the sites, acknowledged use of live fire but described it as a controlled “crowd control” measure, with rounds fired only into the ground or away from civilians. The company cited an internal report indicating that 31 percent of food distributions in June involved “non-serious injuries”—though it did not elaborate on the causes or severity.
Israeli officials have said no military personnel were present at the aid sites during operating hours. They emphasized the locations were managed by American contractors with independent security.
The AP’s exposure of these incidents raises pressing questions about the conduct of privately contracted security forces at US-funded humanitarian operations—and whether existing oversight structures are sufficient to prevent harm or mismanagement.
