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A death trap under the guise of aid in Gaza: Mercenaries and CIA-linked shell companies

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The genocide in Gaza, ongoing for 20 months and constituting the bloodiest chapter of a 77-year occupation, has entered a new phase with one of the 21st century’s most insidious methods of warfare: a mass slaughter driven by profit and ideology, concealed under the mask of humanitarian aid. At the center of this bloody mechanism are US-based private security companies, shell companies managed by former intelligence officers, and a supposed aid foundation controlled by Evangelical Zionist leaders.

North Carolina-based UG Solutions, a Wyoming-based wealth management firm’s shell company Safe Reach Solutions, and their public face, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), are systematically luring Palestinian civilians struggling with starvation into a “death trap” under the direct supervision and cooperation of the Israeli army. Aid distribution points are deliberately established in the middle of active war zones. Thousands of unarmed civilians who come to these locations hoping to find food are either killed by fire from Israeli soldiers and American contractors or crushed to death in the ensuing chaos.

The inner workings of this bloody mechanism have been exposed through the confessions of conscientious witnesses like retired Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Aguilar, a decorated 25-year US Special Forces (Green Beret) veteran who personally served in the operation, and reports from international organizations. The picture that emerges reveals not just a series of war crimes, but also the entanglement of Evangelical Zionism, far-right ideologies, shell companies run by former CIA officials, and unchecked capital in the project to annihilate the Palestinian people.

The Evangelical-led front foundation, GHF

The Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), designed as the public face of this deadly operation in Gaza, emerged like a ghost, leaving almost no digital footprint. Despite the US State Department’s incomprehensible statements defending its existence, the organization’s website long consisted of an empty “under construction” page. Although GHF presents itself as an entity providing “critical aid and support” to the people of Gaza, this statement is the exact opposite of its practice.

After the foundation’s founder and initial director, Jake Wood, resigned on May 26, 2025, just before the official launch, the person appointed to replace him revealed the project’s true purpose: Johnnie Moore.

Moore was a public relations specialist and an Evangelical leader who began his career as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at the Evangelical Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. The public relations firm he later founded, Kairo Company, promoted itself with the slogan, “We get it done… Whatever it takes.” This “results-oriented” approach seemed to summarize the philosophy of the bloody operation conducted by GHF.

Moore’s appointment was not surprising, considering how closely GHF worked with the Israeli Coordination and Liaison Administration (COGAT) and the Israeli army. Moore had co-chaired the Evangelical advisory board for the 2016 Trump campaign, met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and established close ties with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. However, his most notable connection was his collaboration with the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

Moore’s social media account is filled with Zionist propaganda from Israeli venture capitalists, media outlets like Fox News and Breitbart, and pro-war financiers. Following the massacres at GHF’s aid distributions, which cost hundreds of Palestinian lives, Moore used language that shifted the blame to Hamas. In a social media post, hiding behind rhetoric of Christianity and peace, he used the following words:

“The principle of impartiality does not mean neutrality. There is good and evil in this world. What we are doing is good, and what Hamas is doing to these Gazans is absolute evil… If you won’t join us, at least have the courage to boycott HAMAS, not us… I can’t get these words out of my head, written to Christians tortured by the Roman Empire: ‘The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.’ Romans 16:20.”

These words clearly reveal the mindset behind the operation. On June 10, 2025, the Center for Constitutional Rights sent a notice to Johnnie Moore, informing him that GHF was at “risk of legal liability for complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of the Genocide Convention.”

GHF’s financial infrastructure also exposes the powers behind the project. An operations summary dated May 8, 2025, states that the foundation maintained banking relationships with Truist Bank and JP Morgan Chase and had received a verbal commitment from Goldman Sachs for its Swiss-based branch. This indicates that, under the shadow of genocide accusations, global financial giants are also part of this bloody mechanism.

The operation’s muscle: Mercenaries and shell companies

The entities conducting GHF’s field operations and holding the monopoly on violence are US-based private security contractors. These firms are notable not only for their military backgrounds but also for their dubious corporate structures and the extremist ideologies of their personnel.

One of the main contractors for the operation, UG Solutions, is managed by Jameson Govoni, a former US Special Forces soldier. Govoni describes himself as a “thug from Boston” and said, “I joined the army to inflict pain on those who inflicted pain on us.” This mentality forms the basis of the company’s brutal practices in Gaza. Govoni is also the creator of a product called Alcohol Armor, founded in 2022, which promises to reduce the effects of alcohol. His story that the idea for this product came during a covert mission in Nicaragua where alcohol consumption was mandatory points to the unprofessional and reckless attitude of Govoni and his circle. His partner, Glenn Devitt, is known to have said, “We are by far the worst drinkers in the military. My stomach was pumped.”

The ideological profile of UG Solutions becomes even clearer with the personnel it deploys in the field. It was discovered that one of the team leaders providing security services at GHF’s controversial food distribution points, Johnny “Taz” Mulford, was a member of a Crusader-themed motorcycle club that declared its opposition to the “radical jihadist movement.” Mulford, a member of the biker group called Infidels, displays numerous tattoos associated with the Crusades on his Facebook account. These include the cross of the Knights Templar, the Jerusalem cross, and the number 1095, the year Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade.

According to Professor Matthew Gabriele, an expert on Crusader iconography who spoke to The Intercept, these symbols are frequently adopted by racist and far-right groups and allude to a fantastical idea of an existential war between Islam and Christianity. Gabriele stated that the date 1095 has been used symbolically by far-right extremists, from the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik to the perpetrator of the New Zealand massacre, and represents a worldview in which Muslims are a “threat that must be killed.” This situation reveals the kind of mentality that is actually running an operation claiming to bring “aid” to a predominantly Muslim population.

Safe Reach Solutions: A CIA front

The other key contractor in the operation, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), has a much darker structure. According to research by journalist Jack Poulson, SRS was actually a shell company for Two Ocean Trust LLC., a Wyoming-based “intergenerational wealth management” firm. Both companies were registered at the same address in Jackson, Wyoming.

More importantly, according to a Washington Post report, SRS was founded by Philip F. Reilly, the former chief of the CIA’s Special Activities Center. The company’s formation process was kept extremely secret despite promises of “transparency.” Its website was registered just one day before the company’s official establishment, and the site contained no information about the company’s legal name or any of its executives. The company’s incorporation documents were linked to shady intermediaries who had previously been subjects of the Panama Papers investigations. This indicates that the operation in Gaza was not only run by mercenaries but also by entities from the depths of the US intelligence world specializing in financial secrecy. A wealth management firm, led by a former CIA chief, conducting a deadly security operation in Gaza is the most blatant evidence that the project has covert and possibly illegal objectives far beyond humanitarian aid.

“A dystopian and post-apocalyptic landscape”

The person who most clearly exposed the inner workings of this complex and bloody mechanism was retired Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Aguilar, a 25-year US Special Forces (Green Beret) veteran with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, who served in the operation himself. In interviews with both Democracy Now! and Tucker Carlson, Aguilar described in stark detail the systematic war crimes and inhumane practices he witnessed in Gaza. Defining himself not as a “mercenary” or a “whistleblower” but as a “patriotic American,” Aguilar said he was speaking out because the American people needed to know they were on the wrong side of history.

Aguilar described the devastation he encountered upon first entering Gaza as a “dystopian and post-apocalyptic landscape.” Stating that he faced a scene far worse than any war zone he had previously served in, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria, Aguilar said, “What I witnessed in Gaza can only be described as a landscape of destruction. It was the collapse of human morality. We, as the US, have become complicit in this process. We are jointly participating in the ongoing atrocities and genocide in Gaza.” Describing those who deny the claims of hunger and famine as “dehumanized,” Aguilar emphasized that what he saw was not an exaggeration but a concrete reality.

“They were designed as death traps”

Aguilar’s most shocking revelations concerned the location and operation of the aid distribution centers. He said these points were designed as “death traps,” as Senator Chris Van Hollen had also noted. Aguilar stated that these centers were deliberately set up in the middle of conflict zones where the Israeli army was conducting active offensive operations. Emphasizing that this was a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions, Aguilar said, “These points were knowingly established in conflict zones. I thought this was either complete ignorance or intentional. They were deliberately placed here.”

He also said that these centers were surrounded not by barbed wire but by razor wire, which causes serious injuries to civilians, and that this wire was specifically requested by the US contractors. He stated that this practice alone constitutes a war crime.

Aguilar explained that the violence used against unarmed civilians at the distribution points was systematic. He said that despite no attacks occurring, indiscriminate force was used to control the crowds, and there were no rules of engagement or proper response protocols. Even more alarmingly, he stated that the ammunition used was M855 armor-piercing rounds. Aguilar asked, “This round is designed to pierce armor and kill. Why would such ammunition be used against unarmed people?”

Presenting a video he personally filmed on May 29 as evidence, Aguilar showed an armed American security guard affiliated with GHF opening fire on a crowd of civilians moving away from the aid recipients. In the video, another guard next to the shooter can be heard saying, “I think you hit him!” Aguilar stated, “Unarmed, hungry people were shot at just to make them move faster. This video was filmed by me. Not Hamas, not the Gaza Ministry of Health, but me; an American,” clearly identifying the perpetrators. Aguilar confirmed that he had personally witnessed, “beyond a shadow of a doubt,” both American contractors and Israeli soldiers firing on Palestinians struggling with hunger.

An operation of deception

Aguilar revealed that the legal basis of the operation was also entirely illegal. He stated that all UG Solutions employees, including himself—meaning armed Americans—were in Israel on “tourist visas.” He said this was contrary to international law and showed that the mission was rushed, with many irregularities being overlooked.

He also demonstrated with figures that GHF’s claims about the amount of aid were a deception. Criticizing the foundation’s announcement that it had distributed 96 million meals in 65 days, Aguilar explained what this meant with a simple calculation:

“When you divide 96 million by 2.21 million, then by three meals a day, and then by 65 days, it means we provided food for only 15 of the 65 days. What happened to the other 50 days? This is not aid; this is a systematic starvation operation.”

Aguilar argued that GHF lacked the capacity to carry out this operation and that its funding should be immediately cut, with the aid process being handed back to the United Nations.

Aguilar also responded to UG Solutions’ attempts to discredit him. He noted that the company claimed to have fired him for inappropriate conduct, whereas he had resigned on June 13. He said that even after his resignation, his salary was paid, his insurance was covered, and he was urged to withdraw his resignation. “I was not fired. On the contrary, I was promoted twice, and my salary was increased twice,” said Aguilar, adding that all the evidence he possesses is original, time-stamped, and verified, and that UG Solutions even used one of his videos in its own press release.

Dissenting voices in the US

This bloody operation has sparked reactions both within the US and internationally. Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report published on August 1, 2025, stated that Israeli forces regularly firing on Palestinian civilians struggling with hunger at aid distribution points constitutes a “war crime.”

Some members of the US Congress have also begun to speak out. House members Joaquin Castro and Sara Jacobs, along with Senators Peter Welch and Chris Van Hollen, sent a letter to UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions demanding an explanation of their activities in Gaza. The letter warned that the companies and their personnel could face future criminal and civil liability under laws such as the US War Crimes Act. The legislators stated that there was information indicating “your personnel… were brought to Israel on tourist visas, sent into Gaza with war materiel, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians.” At least 21 US senators also wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding that US funding for GHF be halted.

Middle East

Iran resumes ballistic missile assembly using stockpiled parts

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Iran has resumed ballistic missile production in underground facilities, despite statements by Israeli and US authorities asserting that this capacity had been completely eliminated.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing US and Middle Eastern officials, the Tehran administration is utilizing pre-stockpiled components in the manufacturing process.

Officials report that despite strikes on missile sites and industrial installations at the beginning of the war, Iran continues the assembly of both solid- and liquid-fuelled missiles.

Intelligence data indicates activity at numerous underground centres, including the Khojir complex in the southeast of the country, along with efforts to establish additional underground assembly points to protect against new air strikes.

Current assembly operations are being maintained at lower volumes compared with pre-war levels, as US and Israeli operations destroyed several facilities and a naval blockade has impeded the import of components and solid-fuel ingredients.

Assessing the process, Tal Inbar, a senior analyst at the US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, stressed that damaged infrastructure can be repaired during periods when facilities are not targeted, and parts procured from other countries can be stored there.

Inbar noted that it would be naive to believe Iran is not rebuilding its missile production capacity.

Arguing that the facilities were destroyed and Tehran has suffered severe losses, the official stated that Iran remains weaker than ever before, and US President Donald Trump will never permit the country to acquire nuclear weapons.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that the US has destroyed up to 90% of Iran’s drone, ballistic missile, and naval industrial infrastructure, severely degrading Tehran’s ability to launch missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Another US government official pointed out that the Tehran administration may have revived production, albeit on a low scale, following preliminary talks conducted in mid-June with the Trump administration regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war. The official noted that existing stockpiles are sufficient to assemble at least two hundred missiles.

A CNN report in late May indicated that the Tehran administration was attempting to reopen underground missile shelters, struck by the US and Israel with costly munitions, using bulldozers and dump trucks.

Excavation activities accelerated after the April ceasefire decision; out of 69 tunnel entrances struck across 18 distinct locations, 50 have been made accessible again.

Experts stressed that it is impossible to destroy missile power solely by bombing tunnel entrances, underlining the limitations of such bombardments.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed in April that they had effectively ended Iran’s missile programme. However, an NBC News report noted that Tehran utilized the ceasefire period to reconstitute its military strength.

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Mohammed bin Salman urges Trump to strike Houthis after Mokha falls

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has requested that US President Donald Trump launch air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

According to two US officials who spoke to Axios, Trump rejected the request, and US officials emphasised that the administration has no plans for direct intervention against the Houthis for now.

Oil prices surged on Thursday after the resistance led by Houthi militias (Ansarallah) seized the strategic coastal city of Mokha in Yemen.

This development brought the Yemeni resistance one step closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is vital for global trade and Saudi oil exports.

With Iran already disrupting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Houthi control over Bab el-Mandeb could provide Tehran with powerful new leverage over the US and its Gulf allies.

On Thursday, as Houthi forces advanced towards the coastal city of Mokha and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces retreated, bin Salman telephoned Trump to brief him on the deteriorating situation.

A few hours later, the prince called again to request that Trump carry out US air strikes against the Houthis.

Trump declined, but a US official stated that the administration would provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting data on the Houthis.

The official noted that approximately 200 US military personnel are currently stationed in Saudi Arabia, providing non-military support.

A senior Trump administration official indicated that Washington’s priority is keeping the Red Sea open, while leaving the broader fight to regional partners.

“We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Yemen regarding regional stability,” the official said.

The official continued:

“The US remains focused on protecting our core national security interests, such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges.”

The US is concerned by the rapidly escalating conflict in Yemen and is seeking to avoid direct military intervention while increasing its support for Saudi Arabia.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), travelled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent coordination meetings.

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemeni resistance forces reignited in July after Riyadh blocked an Iranian aircraft carrying senior Houthi officials from landing in Sanaa following their return from Ali Khamenei’s funeral.

Bin Salman requested Trump’s political support to strike Sanaa airport, but made clear that Saudi Arabia did not require US military assistance. Trump granted his support.

The Houthis subsequently retaliated by attacking Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. These strikes threatened a route crucial to the kingdom’s oil exports, and the group later expanded its attacks to Saudi energy facilities.

Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies responded with air strikes and ground operations against Houthi positions.

Saudi Arabia’s request for direct US military intervention marks a sharp reversal from July, when Riyadh informed Washington that it could manage the Houthis on its own.

As clashes intensified, the Saudis began seeking progressively greater support from the US.

Sources close to the discussions noted that in recent weeks, US military and civilian officials informed their Saudi counterparts that Trump’s directive is to keep American forces focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, and to avoid opening a new front.

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Netanyahu ignored MBZ warning on Hamas 7 October plan, report says

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ignored a direct warning from UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the run-up to 7 October 2023, according to an investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The report states that the UAE leader, widely known as MBZ, was convinced in September 2023 that an explosion was imminent in the region, particularly given the escalating tensions in the West Bank.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who maintains close ties with bin Zayed, recounted: “In the months leading up to the war, he spoke with me about this issue frequently. He consistently conveyed the message that the situation needed to be de-escalated. He even dispatched a special envoy to Israel who met with the prime minister. The emir appeared to sense that the region was on the verge of erupting.”

MBZ also engaged in direct discussions with Netanyahu. These exchanges followed a standard operational protocol: a representative from the United Arab Emirates embassy would arrive at the prime minister’s office equipped with a specialised, secure telephone device to ensure confidentiality.

However, according to the newspaper, the call initiated by bin Zayed on this occasion was extraordinary in nature.

A week and a half before 7 October 2023, the UAE ruler placed a call to Netanyahu from the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, and the two leaders spoke for 45 minutes.

During this conversation, bin Zayed warned that Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, was planning a major operation against Israel.

Bin Zayed voiced deep concern that such an event would not only lead to significant bloodshed, but would also destabilise the entire region and undermine the Abraham Accords.

Haaretz reported that three senior foreign sources possess direct knowledge of the call’s contents, marking the first public disclosure of the conversation’s existence.

A close Palestinian adviser to bin Zayed, who had emigrated from Gaza to Abu Dhabi years earlier and maintained extensive connections across the Gaza Strip, was also present during the exchange.

According to the adviser, the UAE ruler stressed to Netanyahu that Israel needed to prepare for this specific threat.

The adviser stated:

“The emir explained that, according to his assessment, Sinwar was preparing for a major event. He told Netanyahu that Israel had to be prepared. At the same time, he proposed working towards an economic solution for the Gaza Strip to prevent escalation, alongside calming the situation in the West Bank.”

Bin Zayed urged Netanyahu to take the matter seriously. Yet, to the emir’s surprise, the prime minister reacted with relative calm.

Netanyahu told bin Zayed that, in his own assessment, Hamas was planning to operate in the West Bank area. Reassuring the Emirati leader, Netanyahu insisted that Israel was prepared for any scenario.

The UAE leader later recounted his conversation with Netanyahu and his subsequent warning to CIA Director William J. Burns.

Bin Zayed shared with Burns the intuitive alarm he had sought to convey to Netanyahu—that “something over there is about to blow”—and noted the Israeli prime minister’s conviction that the unstable theatre was in fact the West Bank.

“The emir hoped that, despite Netanyahu’s reserved reaction, he would take the message seriously and take action,” the adviser said.

However, neither anticipated that the prime minister would hear the warning without briefing the heads of his defence and security establishments: neither the director of the Shin Bet, nor the director of the Mossad, nor the chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces was informed of MBZ’s warning.

Haaretz noted that Gaza-related negotiations between Israel and Hamas had been proceeding smoothly in early 2023, providing the context in which the Emirati ruler’s concerns emerged.

The report received swift corroboration from the Israeli political opposition. Former prime minister and leader of the B’Yachad party, Naftali Bennett, stated that he knew the warning issued by UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed to Netanyahu concerning Hamas’s plans prior to 7 October was genuine.

Speaking to 103FM, Bennett said: “I am telling you: I know this to be true.”

Bennett continued:

“Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE warned Netanyahu that Sinwar was planning an operation. The head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, Abbas Kamel, also notified Netanyahu a few days before the massacre that a major operation was being planned. I do not wish to discuss my sources with anyone. I am telling you: I know this fact to be true.”

Contending that Netanyahu had led Israel “blindly into this horrific disaster,” the opposition figure asserted: “He was so deeply captive to the conception that Hamas was an asset that, despite receiving explicit warnings, he did nothing.”

Bennett maintained that Netanyahu bears direct responsibility for 7 October, not merely by virtue of being prime minister, but because “he spent 15 years strengthening Hamas and doing nothing.”

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