A Palestinian boy whom a former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor claimed was killed by the IDF is, in fact, alive and has been sent abroad with his mother, the aid group said.
The boy’s reported death drew international attention in July when a former GHF employee, Anthony Aguilar, claimed that after he gave food to “Amir” at a GHF site in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces opened fire and killed him.
Subsequently, the GHF said Thursday, it began looking for the boy, who the group said is actually named Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden and is aged almost 9. His ordeal is the latest chapter in the fight between Aguilar — a former US special forces soldier who has accused GHF of complicity in war crimes — and the organization, which calls him a disgruntled former staffer making false claims.
GHF said that to identify the boy and his mother, it used biometrics and contacted other Gazans. Its spokesperson, Chapin Fay, said the organization’s staff showed his photo to people in the area of the distribution site where he was filmed, and was able to get in touch with his extended family. The GHF added that the boy still had the shirt he was wearing in footage that accompanied Aguilar’s claims.
“GHF has been searching for this boy ever since” Aguilar made his claims, Fay said in a press briefing on Thursday. “The boy is alive and safe. Falsely identified as ‘Amir’ by Mr. Aguilar, his real name is Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, his family calls him ‘Abood.’”
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“He and his mother have been moved to a safe and secure location,” Fay continued, saying the family’s whereabouts would be kept secret for their own protection. “We have every belief that they are on their way to a new life.”
???? Major Announcement: We have incredible news to share.
The young Gazan boy falsely identified as “Amir” by former UG contractor Tony Aguilar is alive and safe.
His real name is Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden – “Abood” as his family calls him – and after weeks of high-risk work… pic.twitter.com/WxUxTrnPxO
— Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (@GHFUpdates) September 4, 2025
The GHF shared photos of the boy with the organization’s staff, and outside of the Gaza Strip, in addition to footage of him with rescuers. They also shared a video of his mother speaking with GHF staff.
“I want to travel for my son’s best interest,” she says in Arabic in an edited video. “I’m leaving out of my own free will, no one pressured me.”
Fay said finding the family became a priority for GHF after Aguilar began publicizing his account, which the organization feared would make the boy a target of Hamas.
“That publicity placed the child squarely in the crosshairs of Hamas, who have benefited greatly from Mr. Aguilar’s lies and the media amplifying them,” he said. “If the boy was proven alive, it would unravel their propaganda, expose Mr. Aguilar’s lies, and discredit a narrative that Hamas has used to stoke outrage and violence.”
The GHF announcement on Thursday came more than a month after Aguilar began alleging in international media interviews that GHF was guilty of “criminal” conduct.
GHF, which is backed by the US and Israel, began operating in May as a way to distribute aid while bypassing Hamas. Aguilar’s claims came as the organization faced global blowback over the chaos and reported near-daily deadly shootings around aid sites. The IDF disputes figures from the Hamas-run health ministry on the number killed, though it has said troops fired warning shots at crowds.
Former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid worker Anthony Aguilar in an interview with the BBC, aired July 25, 2025. (Screenshot/BBC)
In a July interview with the BBC about his time working in Gaza, Aguilar said he saw Israeli soldiers and US contractors use “indiscriminate” force against civilians at aid sites, in what he described as “war crimes.”
“In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population,” he told the BBC.
After the interview aired, the GHF released a statement saying Aguilar fabricated the claims.
“Upon hearing Mr. Aguilar’s claims, we immediately launched an investigation,” the GHF said. “The findings, based on cross-checking the timelines with video clips and on sources on the ground, indicate that these are false claims with no basis in reality.”
Fay then shared the content of text messages that show Aguilar was “terminated for misconduct,” and did not, as he claimed, resign from the GHF’s security partner UG Solutions by choice.
After he pleaded to be rehired and was turned away, he “threatened UG Solutions with retribution,” Fay said, citing a message sent by Aguilar on June 15 in which he warned that he could be the company’s “best friend or worst nightmare.”
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