Gaza Boy Falsely Reported Dead Found Alive by Aid Group
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is pushing back hard against a viral story that accused the Israel Defense Forces of killing a young boy at a food distribution site—a story it now says was a complete fabrication. Reporting for The Media Line, Maayan Hoffman details how GHF not only disproved the allegations but also located the child, alive and safe.
According to GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay, the false narrative was planted in July by Anthony Aguilar, a former employee dismissed for misconduct. Aguilar told international media that he saw the boy, whom he named Amir, fatally shot by Israeli troops, even describing supposed “final words.” The claims, accompanied by photos, ricocheted through global outlets and social media, creating what Fay called a propaganda gift to Hamas.
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But GHF investigators tracked the boy—his real name is Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hamadam, known to family as Abood—through relatives, biometric checks, and video evidence proving he survived. After a tense, multinational diplomatic effort with help from the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the boy and his mother were relocated to safety. Fay said the boy’s identity was confirmed beyond doubt, down to the shirt he wore the day Aguilar alleged he was killed.
Fay accused Aguilar and media outlets of endangering a child for attention. “Imagine the kind of person who would endanger a child’s life for 15 minutes of fame,” he said, urging retractions. For GHF, the debunking is both a vindication and a warning about misinformation in conflict zones.
Hoffman concludes that the boy’s survival—and the organization’s effort to protect him—may reshape how the world views both Hamas propaganda and the credibility of international reporting from Gaza.
