Startling revelations from former U.S. security contractors have shed light on the extent of violence carried out against Palestinians at aid distribution centres in Gaza. Speaking to CBS News under the pseudonym “Mike,” one contractor described scenes where Palestinian civilians, desperate for food, were met not with assistance but with bullets, fired not only by Israeli forces but also by foreign contractors tasked with “securing” the sites.

Mike recounted that the shootings were not warning shots but deliberate fire into the crowds. He recalled being ordered to clean up human and animal remains after one such incident, memories that continue to haunt him. Shockingly, he noted that some of his colleagues boasted about the number of people they had shot.

In a separate interview with Israeli Channel 12, another American security officer with 25 years of U.S. military service detailed systematic mistreatment of Palestinians at U.S.-Israeli aid distribution centres. He admitted that American guards fired on unarmed civilians to force them away, used pepper spray against people scavenging for food, and even hurled a sound bomb at a woman, causing her to collapse. “In my military life, I had never seen such excessive use of force against civilians,” he said, explaining his decision to resign. He added that the centres could have been run more humanely if the UN had been given resources and authority over their operation.

The Gaza Government Media Office has condemned these revelations, describing the centres as “death traps” and accusing the U.S.-Israeli initiative, led by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), of engaging in racist, criminal practices. The office demanded an independent international investigation into the shootings and the conduct of foreign security personnel.

According to UN figures, more than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to collect food since May, with nearly a thousand deaths occurring near humanitarian institutions. Human rights monitors have warned that live gunfire has become a near-daily occurrence at aid distribution points, turning spaces that should offer relief into sites of terror and death.