Former U.S. colonel: What I saw from Israel in Gaza was more brutal than ISIS

Anthony Aguilar, a U.S. veteran and former Special Forces officer, described the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza as "unprecedented in their level of violence" during a revealing interview with the BBC.

He said: “In my entire career, I have never seen this level of brutality and excessive, unnecessary force used against an unarmed, starving civilian population.”

In the full, unedited version of the interview, Aguilar stated that although he had fought against both the Taliban and ISIS during his service, the brutality he witnessed by the Israeli army in Gaza was worse.

Aguilar had been working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — an organization jointly managed by the U.S. and Israel — but resigned from his position after witnessing Israeli forces and American contractors directly shooting at Palestinian civilians who were trying to access food aid in besieged areas.

The former U.S. officer emphasized that he had personally witnessed artillery, mortar fire, and even tank shells being fired at defenseless, starving civilians. In one case, he saw an Israeli Merkava tank fire on and destroy a civilian vehicle that was moving away from an aid distribution point.

When asked directly if he had witnessed war crimes, Aguilar responded unequivocally: “Without a doubt. This is not war — this is annihilation.”

Aguilar also criticised the handling of the GHF mission, describing it as "amateur, inexperienced, untrained… In my most frank assessment, I would say that they're criminal."

These remarks come as reports indicate that over a thousand Palestinians seeking food at aid distribution points have been killed by live fire, and at least 127 people — including more than 85 children — have died from starvation.