US- and Israeli-Backed Gaza Aid Group Suing AP Over ‘Categorically False’ Story

A U.S.- and Israeli-backed humanitarian group in Gaza said it is "pursuing legal action" against the Associated Press (AP) over a "categorically false" report that its aid workers opened fire on civilians at a food distribution site.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced Thursday that it launched an investigation into the claims after the AP reported that aid workers have fired "live ammunition" at "hungry Palestinians" at food distribution sites.

"Based on time-stamped video footage and sworn witness statements, we have concluded that the claims in the AP’s story are categorically false," the GHF said in a statement. "At no point were civilians under fire at a GHF distribution site."

The AP report cites two former GHF contractors and a video recording in which gunfire can be heard off-screen. According to the story, an unnamed former GHF worker said he "watched another contractor fire at the Palestinians and then saw a man about 60 yards (meters) away—in the same direction where the bullets were fired—drop to the ground," indicating that the individual had been hit. No sources quoted in the story could point to a verifiable instance of a GHF worker shooting a Palestinian.

But the GHF said the gunfire came from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers operating outside the aid site.

"The gunfire heard in the video was confirmed to have originated from the IDF, who was outside the immediate vicinity of the GHF distribution site," the GHF said. "It was not directed at individuals, and no one was shot or injured."

The GHF claimed that the main source for the AP story was a "disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct weeks before this article was published," adding that the newswire’s "coverage of our aid operations has increasingly echoed narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health."

"What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations," the organization added. "If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action."

The GHF said it fired one contractor who can be heard on the video yelling, "Hell, yeah, boy!" after the sound of shots being fired.

The GHF confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon that it would take legal action against the AP but declined to provide further details. An AP spokesman said the newswire "stand[s] by the story."

The AP is not the only news outlet that has drawn scrutiny because of its reporting on supposed killings of Palestinians receiving aid. The Washington Post in June cited Hamas to allege—without evidence—that IDF soldiers had fired at and killed Gazan civilians waiting in line at an aid site. CNN, as well, claimed that "at least 26 Palestinians" were killed "after Israeli forces open[ed] fire near [a] Gaza aid distribution center," also citing Hamas. The Post eventually issued a correction—after stealth-editing its story—and announced that its coverage "fell short of" the paper’s standards.

Hamas has fervently opposed the GHF’s aid operations in the Gaza Strip—the terrorist group previously controlled, stole, and profited from outside aid supplies intended for Gazan civilians. The GHF said Hamas has killed at least 12 of its volunteer aid workers and placed bounties on the heads of others.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry has claimed that at least 500 Gazan civilians have been killed trying to access aid at GHF sites. Over 100 non-governmental organizations that support Hamas’s efforts to stop the GHF’s oversight of aid distribution echoed the unverified claim this week.

The GHF said on Thursday that it has distributed 58 million meals and 1 million boxes of aid since its launch.

"We call on international leaders and aid groups to stand with us and with the people of Gaza," the group said. "We are ready and willing to work with organizations—large or small—committed to the same goal: feeding those in need. The people of Gaza, who show up to our sites every day in defiance of Hamas’s threats and brutality, deserve it."

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