Anthony Aguilar, a 25-year-old, former Green Beret, and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) contractor who once pushed a now-debunked claim that Israeli Defense Forces slaughtered a five-year-old Gazan boy who was simply trying to get food for his family, is now running as a Green Party candidate in North Carolina.
DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE! The genocide continues. Everyday. The US Government is complicit and responsible. HOLD CONGRESS ACCOUNTABLE. Replace, Repeal, Rebuild! Impeach, Convict, Remove!https://t.co/BmPChWeZm2 pic.twitter.com/eVw0ElAT2T
— Anthony Aguilar (@AnthonyAgu88102) February 9, 2026
Aguilar first came to fame as he sought to demonize both the IDF and GHF as being unusually brutal towards Gazan civilians, in the war against Hamas, with his story of the IDF slaughtering a five-year-old.
As Townhall previously reported:
Aguilar showed still images of the boy taken from his bodycam footage, approaching him and another contractor holding bags of food. He claimed to have had a heartfelt moment with Abboud when the boy kissed his hand and face, thanking him for the food.
He then said he heard shots fired after the boy left, and when he arrived on the scene, he claimed to have seen Abboud and others dead on the ground, having been shot by IDF soldiers. Aguilar told Dialogue Works that the boy took a "shot to the torso, a shot to the leg — dead."
The former Green Beret told conflicting accounts of the incident, claiming on July 29th the boy was murdered right outside of the GHF aid site Secure Distribution Site-1 (SDS), before telling MSNBC on August 2nd it occurred outside SDS-2, and finally deciding it actually happened outside of SDS-3, which he told Dialogue Works.
His claims were eagerly amplified by Tucker Carlson and other media figures who sought to ensure Israel came out to be the bad guy in the situation.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched an investigation and moved quickly to locate the boy out of concern for his safety after Aguilar’s allegation began circulating widely. Given the intense international scrutiny surrounding the incident, and the fact that much of the EU and the United Nations had already turned sharply against Israel, the claim carried obvious propaganda value. However, the boy, Abboud, was found alive and safely evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
BREAKING:
— NOVEXA (@Novexa24) September 4, 2025
Exclusive video shows Gaza boy Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, known as Abboud, previously reported killed by the IDF, is alive and safe with his mother Najlaa. They were safely evacuated from Gaza on September 4, 2025.
Follow: @Novexa24 pic.twitter.com/z48qCyD9X3
Gazan boy, said to be kiIIed by the IDF, is alive.
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) September 4, 2025
A Green Beret veteran told several outlets he saw Israel gun down the 8-year-old at a @GHFUpdates aid site in May.
Abboud and his mum Najlaa have been safely extracted from Gaza.
How many outlets will apologize and retract? pic.twitter.com/BHCXVcI6YW
Despite the false claim, Aguilar has continued to insist that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and has now cast himself as a progressive candidate, framing his decision to run for office as an act of moral conviction.
DON’T STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE. The IDF, the Israeli Government, the US Congress, @SenTomCotton, @RepFine, @SenTedCruz, @RepKnott, ALL take AIPAC money and call these Palestinians “Hamas”. The IDF do not discriminate between combatants and unarmed, starving children.… pic.twitter.com/7vxgjgTcx8
— Anthony Aguilar (@AnthonyAgu88102) February 8, 2026
“I stand with the 62% of Americans who want a choice outside the two-party establishment,” Aguilar said. “By running as a Green, I can fight for the solutions people are literally dying for — like healthcare as a human right and an end to endless war—solutions the billionaire donors will not stand for.”
WE have the power to change the course we are on. WE can save this great Nation from tyrants and thugs and elite sycophants, charlatans and pedophiles. VOTE for change. pic.twitter.com/VR1BkwhA1N
— Anthony Aguilar (@AnthonyAgu88102) February 8, 2026
