In July, former U.S. Army Green Beret contractor Anthony Aguilar made shocking allegations that captured international attention. He claimed to have witnessed the killing of an 8-year-old Palestinian boy named “Amir” by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution site on May 28, 2025.
Aguilar’s emotional account, told across multiple media platforms including MSNBC, described a heartbreaking scene: a young boy who had walked 12 kilometers for food, kissed Aguilar’s hand in gratitude, and was then allegedly shot dead by Israeli forces during crowd control operations at the aid site.
“He puts out his hand, and so I beckoned him to come to me,” Aguilar claimed in interviews. “He reaches out and he holds my hand, and he kisses my hand and he says, ‘Shukran [Thank you].'” According to Aguilar’s false narrative, the boy was then killed when IDF forces opened fire on civilians, with the child suffering “a shot to the torso, a shot to the leg – dead.”
However, a thorough investigation by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation revealed that these claims were entirely fabricated. The boy, whose real name is Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden (nicknamed “Abboud”), was found alive and well with his mother in Gaza.
The GHF’s investigation, which involved extensive groundwork with local Palestinians, successfully located the boy and his family. Using facial recognition software and biometric verification, they confirmed that Abboud was the same child featured in Aguilar’s body camera footage – but crucially, he had never been harmed.
On August 23, Abboud and his mother appeared at GHF’s Secure Distribution Site 3, marking the end of weeks of searching. The boy was subsequently safely extracted from Gaza along with his mother and other family members on September 4, 2025.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Abboud himself spoke about his experience: “Outside the Gaza Strip is nice,” he said through a translator, clearly alive and unharmed despite Aguilar’s claims of his death.
Multiple factors cast serious doubt on Anthony Aguilar’s credibility and motivations: The GHF revealed that Aguilar was terminated for misconduct in June 2025 – contradicting his claims of being a whistleblower. According to GHF Executive Chair Johnnie Moore, Aguilar “pleaded to be rehired and threatened repercussions” after his termination.
Aguilar’s story underwent significant changes across various media appearances. He initially claimed the incident occurred at Secure Distribution Site-1 (SDS-1), then told MSNBC it happened near SDS-2, and later told another outlet it occurred at SDS-3. Such fundamental inconsistencies raise serious questions about the reliability of his account.
The GHF presented evidence that Aguilar had falsified internal memos and continued sending messages praising the organization’s work even after the date he supposedly witnessed the alleged “war crimes.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation represents a crucial alternative to traditional aid distribution in Gaza, specifically designed to address the widespread corruption and terrorist infiltration that have plagued humanitarian efforts in the region.
The GHF’s operations are intended to provide an alternative to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has faced extensive criticism and credible allegations of:
- Having most of its aid stolen by Hamas militants
- Employing Hamas operatives and sympathizers
- Inadvertently keeping Hamas in power by allowing the terrorist organization to control food distribution
- Failing to ensure aid reaches ordinary Palestinian civilians rather than being diverted to military purposes
Despite facing numerous false allegations and propaganda attacks, the GHF has demonstrated success in its humanitarian mission. The organization operates secure distribution sites in southern Gaza, providing direct aid to Palestinian civilians while implementing security measures to prevent terrorist infiltration and aid diversion.
The foundation’s ability to successfully locate and rescue Abboud and his family demonstrates both their operational capabilities and commitment to protecting Palestinian lives – directly contradicting claims that they collaborate in harming civilians.
This case highlights the serious consequences of spreading unverified allegations, particularly in conflict zones where misinformation can have deadly real-world impacts.
As GHF’s Johnnie Moore noted: “Too many people, including in the press and civil society, were quick to spread unverified claims without asking the most basic questions. When a child’s life is at stake, facts must matter more than headlines.”
The rapid international spread of Aguilar’s false claims created genuine safety risks for the boy and his family. Hamas militants had a vested interest in ensuring Abboud was never found alive, as his survival would discredit the narrative being used to attack both the GHF and Israel’s military operations.
This incident underscores several critical points about humanitarian operations in Gaza:
- Security Necessity: The complex security environment in Gaza, controlled by the Hamas terrorist organization, requires careful protection measures for aid operations and recipients.
- Media Responsibility: International media outlets must exercise greater caution in verifying claims from sources with potential conflicts of interest or questionable credibility.
- Alternative Aid Models: The success of organizations like GHF in actually delivering aid to civilians demonstrates the need for alternatives to traditional UN-based approaches that have been compromised by terrorist infiltration.
- Propaganda Warfare: Hamas and its supporters actively spread disinformation designed to discredit effective humanitarian operations that bypass their control.
The false story of “Amir’s” death represents far more than simple misinformation – it was a calculated propaganda operation designed to demonize Israeli forces while actually endangering the very Palestinian child it claimed to champion.
Aguilar’s fabricated narrative fits a disturbing pattern of false accusations against the IDF, from debunked hospital rape allegations to fake church destruction claims. These cases share common elements: emotional manipulation, viral spread before verification, and immediate amplification by hostile media outlets eager to promote anti-Israel narratives.
The real victim in this case was not the IDF, which has processes to defend against false accusations, but rather 9-year-old Abboud, whose life was endangered by becoming the centerpiece of anti-Israel propaganda. Hamas had a vested interest in ensuring the boy was never found alive, as “a live, healthy boy doesn’t serve Hamas—it directly threatens them.”
While Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden (“Abboud”) is now safe outside Gaza with his mother, his case illustrates the deadly consequences of anti-IDF disinformation campaigns. As one GHF volunteer described the rescued boy: “Abood is full of life, overflowing with joy, curiosity and laughter. Though he has faced more pain than any child should, he continues to shine.”
The boy’s survival and rescue by the very organization Aguilar tried to discredit stands as a powerful refutation of the lies told about both the GHF and Israeli forces. His safety represents not just a humanitarian success, but the triumph of truth over propaganda designed to demonize Israel’s military while endangering the Palestinian civilians it claims to defend.