Whistleblower and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar accused a U.S. and Israel-funded nonprofit of “not only implicitly but also explicitly furthering the conduct of genocide in Gaza” during a Tuesday event.
Aguilar shared his experiences working as a security subcontractor for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an entity sponsored by the U.S. and Israel to provide humanitarian support in Gaza before the ceasefire last year. The event was hosted by Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Aguilar began his subcontractor career after he retired from active duty in March of 2025. He started working with UG Solutions, the security contractor for GHF, and was sent to Gaza in mid-2025. According to Aguilar, he took the job because he thought GHF would aid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was banned from operating in Gaza by Israeli legislation in October 2024.
Aguilar resigned from UG Solutions approximately two months later, alleging misconduct by UG Solutions and GHF. Aguilar’s claims included seeing the Israeli Defence Forces shooting at crowds of Palestinians.
GHF disputed the claims, calling them “categorically false” and describing Aguilar as a “disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct,” a claim Aguilar has denied.
One of Aguilar’s allegations — that a boy named Amir was killed by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) on a GHF distribution site — was strongly disputed by GHF. The group stated they had verified the identity of a young boy who was still “alive and well” and gave an interview to Fox News as the same child.
SJP believed it was important to platform Aguilar due to his “direct, firsthand experience in Gaza.” In a statement to The Daily, the group wrote that Aguilar’s account “challenge[s] Israel’s framing of its actions as humanitarian efforts to ‘help’ Palestinians.”
According to SJP, Aguilar’s military background was intended to reach audiences who might not otherwise engage with activist-led programming, including more conservative and moderate students.
Upon arriving in Gaza, Aguilar said he found things were not as he had imagined. He recounted being taken to Sderot, an Israeli city near the border of Gaza. There, on a hilltop where the whole Gaza Strip could be seen, he recalled an IDF officer saying to him that “this would soon be ours.”
“[GHF is] a front of money and justification for C.I.A. in disguise of humanitarian aid,” Aguilar said, reflecting on his experience.
Aguilar also claimed to have co-worked at UG Solutions with members of the Infidel Motorcycle Club, a biker gang with a history of hostility toward Islam.
“[Infidel Motorcycle Club] thought that they [were] here for a crusade,” Aguilar said, contrasting their motives with his own humanitarian mindset when he agreed to work for UG Solutions in Gaza.
Aguilar’s claims have also attracted the attention of political figures. Following his statements, USAID officials raised concerns about GHF, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter of concern to Marco Rubio.
Still, Aguilar recalled officials on Capitol Hill being less sympathetic. “When I came back to the Congress, not one of them [was] shocked… Some [said] they knew it and they will try to work on it, some [said] they knew it and they support it,” he said.
Aguilar said he felt a moral obligation to bring knowledge of “such a danger to humanity” to the public. He also attributed part of the decision to his 25-year-long military service and previous deployments to other overseas American battlefields. He is “no longer willing to be told that ‘this is what you have to believe,’” he said.
“What I [saw] in Gaza whipped down the curtain, forcing me to reflect on [my] entire adult life… It’s 25 years of experience I questioned, but I now have the credibility to tell people,” Aguilar said.
Kevin Park, District Four Councilmember for the city of Santa Clara, was in attendance at the event. He hoped to “support Mr. Aguilar and tell young people that they should do more… and we’re here to support them if they need,” he said.