Above photo: Anthony Aguilar, a U.S. Army soldier, studying the glasses which saved him from a piece of shrapnel in June 2006. Years later, he would work for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and accuse them of killing civilians. Steven Petibone/ US Army/ Public Domain.
After the retired U.S. veteran blew the whistle on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s “death-trap” aid centers, he’s continued to condemn the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza.
We are honored to give this year’s award to Anthony Aguilar (LTC, USA, ret.) for exposing some of the more egregious brutalities of the genocide in Gaza, including the U.S. role.
Asked why he has spoken out about what he witnessed — like the corralling of starving people into four distribution sites and sometimes shooting them indiscriminately. Aguilar explained, when
“I hung up my uniform. I didn’t hang up my oath to the Constitution.”
A 25-year Army Special Forces veteran, Aguilar agreed to work with the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” with the thought that “there is nothing more Christian than feeding the hungry.”
In Gaza, though, he saw that the GHF was merely an “appendage” of the Israeli military and that the GHF “aid” sites were actually “built as death traps.” The hungry were being fed with bullets.
A young boy named Amir approached Aguilar:
“I said to him, ‘You’re not alone. People care.’ He probably didn’t understand the words but I think he understood the sentiment … he puts his hands on my cheeks. His little hands are very emaciated, the fingernails dried and brittle; signs of someone starving … And he puts his hands on my face, he kisses me and says, ‘Thank you’ in English.”
Shortly after, bullets from the Israeli military start to fly:
“Palestinians are hit and start falling on the ground, Amir among them. So this young boy, who traveled eight or nine kilometers from his home to get a very small amount of food, thanks us. And ends up dead.”
Aguilar adds, “In my entire career I have never witnessed that level of brutality against unarmed, starving civilians.” He did not sign up to be a mercenary, but rather to help feed people. He would not be a part of killing them.
Aguilar was being well paid but Aguilar told Democracy Now!:
“Nothing is going to buy my soul. Nothing can bribe me away from my values and my patriotism as an American.”
On The Chris Hedges Report, former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Aguilar told me that the GHF aid sites — beyond serving as traps to lure Palestinians to their deaths — also effectively serve as biometric surveillance honeypots, scanning the… pic.twitter.com/BalMVPtZy1
— Chris Hedges (@ChrisLynnHedges) September 5, 2025
Aguilar would not be a bystander. While he found a few Congress members who would listen, he was not about to leave it at that. He chose, together with fellow non-violent activist Josephine Guilbeau (Capt., U.S. Army Intelligence [resigned]) to let Congress hear about Gaza in a different, unmistakable way, speaking out at a congressional hearing.
Sam Adams Associates for Integrity is pleased to add Anthony Aguilar to its list of award recipients, the most recent awardees being Aaron Bushnell, Daniel Ellsberg and Daniel Hale.
This year’s award ceremony will be held at 8:30 PM on Jan. 7, 2026 at Burning Coal Theater in Raleigh, N.C. Double Feature, The play My Name is Rachel Corrie will be also presented there at 7:00 pm that same evening.
Sam Adams was a C.I.A. whistleblower who exposed the U.S. official lie about the strength of Viet Cong forces.
