“I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces shooting at the crowds of Palestinians. I witnessed war crimes.”
Friend: This is what Anthony Aguilar, a retired Green Beret and former contractor for the infamous Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), told the BBC on Friday.[1]
The Israeli and U.S. government-backed GHF has effectively weaponized the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, where the UN reports one-third of the two million-person population has gone multiple days in a row without food, and a quarter of the people are experiencing famine-like conditions.[2]
If you think you’re powerless to do anything about it, think again. Friend, OUR taxpayer dollars help pay for the GHF, its militarized security forces, and its deadly food distribution sites — and as calls grow to stop funding the GHF, you have a critical role to play.
The dam is breaking. A record number of Senators just voted to block arms sales to the Israeli government.[3] It’s crucially needed leadership and momentum that gives us a unique opportunity to go further to save lives today. Can you help us bring the same energy we brought to that vote to demanding that Congress defund the GHF and help restore a UN-led humanitarian response in Gaza?
After a two-month siege of Gaza that pushed 2.1 million people to the verge of famine, the Israeli military welcomed the GHF to start operations in May. As the GHF settled in, the IDF continued to bar internationally recognized humanitarian organizations with decades of lifesaving experience from properly delivering food, clean water, medical supplies, and fuel.
The GHF has drawn comparisons to Erik Prince’s notorious Blackwater by setting up “distribution hubs” overseen by armed, private U.S. contractors. Experts have described its sites as “death traps.”[4] Over 1,000 people desperate to access aid have already been killed, and dozens more have died of starvation since the GHF began operations.[5]
It’s clear that the GHF is ill-equipped to do anything other than deepen the chaos and suffering in Gaza. People in Gaza need an unimpeded, UN-led humanitarian access as they experience an Israeli government-created and U.S. government-enabled mass starvation crisis.
If we want to save lives, we need to see more aid distributed rapidly and widely immediately. That’s why we’re pushing to shut down the GHF, and demand the U.S. government support a UN-led humanitarian response — and we’re not the only ones speaking out. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen have each led efforts to curb the GHF’s operations in Gaza. It’s a huge start, but it will require a massive campaign of public pressure to see the bold changes we’re demanding, and that’s where you come in.
In early 2024, just 11 senators voted to request a simple human rights report on the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. With the support of activists like you, alongside partners across the movement, the number of senators willing to vote to block offensive weapons sales just rose to 27.
We’re not satisfied with 27 votes, not even close. But we’re as undeterred as ever to turn the tide on Capitol Hill because a violence-first strategy like the one we’ve witnessed won’t change unless we continue our urgent work to create the space for peaceful solutions and save lives.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
1. BBC, “‘I witnessed war crimes’ in Gaza, former worker at GHF aid site tells BBC”
2. UN News, “People dying from lack of aid every day in Gaza: WFP official”
3. Win Without War Statement, “Senate Vote Signals Growing Momentum to End Gaza’s Devastation”
4. UNRWA Statement “UNRWA Commissioner-General on Gaza: aid distribution has become a death trap”
5. NPR, “Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says”