US veterans distribute aid in Gaza despite Hamas threats and challenges

American veterans working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) want to set the record straight on what’s happening on the ground nearly two years into the war.

Jason Murray, Scott Weimer and Brandon Zielinski — all U.S. military veterans — are working to ensure Palestinians in Gaza get the food they need. 

All three men spoke with Fox News Digital and said that they are proud of the work they’re doing on the ground with GHF.

“We kind of built a plane in flight … not even knowing where we were going to land,” Murray said of the situation. 

GHF began its operations in May 2025, more than a year and a half after the war began. While facing challenges distributing aid in Gaza, Murray said he has seen parallels to his military service, which has helped him as a GHF volunteer.

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American veterans are volunteering with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to get aid to Palestinians in need. (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF))

Weimer told Fox News Digital that when the opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a “natural fit” and that he felt he could fill a need in a way that others couldn’t. He also said that his service experience, along with Murray’s, worked in this type of environment where they were able to find people with the right skills and put them where they’d be most useful.

When he was in the military, Zielinski said he experienced a lot of bilateral training in which he did not always speak the same language as his counterparts. He said his experience working through language barriers has helped in his interactions with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which coordinates with GHF.

All three men spoke of the desperation they saw from hungry Palestinians trying to get food. They also described bad actors taking advantage of the situation – including Hamas operatives and gang members trying to harm people working with GHF, especially Palestinian locals.

Murray gave Fox News Digital some insight as to how the IDF and GHF coordinate when it comes to keeping bad actors out and letting civilians in need get to the aid.

“From a security standpoint, our goal is to provide aid in a safe and secure manner. Hamas does operate in this area. Again, we know that. We have been told through various means that, ‘Hey, Hamas was here today,’” Murray told Fox News Digital. 

He also said that the threat of Hamas is not one that GHF personnel take lightly.

A Palestinian woman carries a box as people seek aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 4, 2025. (Stringer/Reuters)

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Weimer echoed Murray’s sentiment, saying that the GHF personnel “absolutely see Hamas in the background,” but their focus in the foreground is working to get aid to those in need. He also gave Zielinski’s team credit for warding off the bad actors who try to interfere with GHF’s mission.

“They are amazing because the amount of people that are seeking food and seeking aid can be overwhelming at times. I have never once seen any of us overreact to what would be, I think, to anybody, a very scary situation,” Weimer said of Zielinski and his team.

Before Zielinski’s team gets to work, they’re usually given an IDF briefing on the security situation regarding the 48 hours or so prior to their shift. Zielinski told Fox News Digital that he has seen changes to the secure distribution sites (SDS) over time due to the threats that exist in the area.

“We’ve had pistols seen before, there’s been AKs seen before. There’s grenades that went off,” Zielinski told Fox News Digital. 

He also said that his team looks for patterns, records them and then turns into intelligence officials information or materials that can be used to catch bad actors.

“We’ll see down the line that, okay, ‘Hey, we’ve seen this person before, he looked very suspicious,’ and next thing you know, this is a guy that has a pistol on him,” Zielinski said.

Security contractors of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) stand guard as Palestinians receive aid supplies from GHF, in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 1, 2025.  (Stringer/Reuters)

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When asked what the American people should know about the reality on the ground in Gaza, the volunteers all said that it’s important to do some research.

Weimer told Fox News Digital that the media depictions of GHF upset him because they’re “so far askew.” He said he has called home to tell his family that they should not “believe the hype.”

“I guess that’s what I would tell the American people is, you know, these people that are here, these military veterans that lived a long honorable life, we would never be a part of something [like] what I’ve seen in the media,” Weimer said. “It really actually sickens me, it’s just so far askew.”

Gazans walk with boxes of humanitarian aid they received at a distribution center run by the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)

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Zielinski emphasized the passion that GHF volunteers have for the work that they do. He said that the people he works with in the war-torn enclave strive to do whatever possible to help civilians in need.

Since it began operating in May, GHF says it has delivered more than 160 million meals to Palestinians in need. The organization has not operated in the smoothest environment. Despite facing terror threats and international criticism, GHF maintains its call to the international community to join its mission – to deliver food to those who need it.

“Everybody wants to help, and everybody sees the reward for doing so… We all just enjoy doing it,” Zielinski said.