Residents and assistance providers in northern Gaza have noted an increase in the theft from supply depots, as circumstances keep worsening nearly two months after Israel imposed its aid restriction.
Sources such as eyewitnesses, relief organizations, and internal correspondences exchanged among security staff employed by these aid entities informed reporters that armed and non-armed people have been unlawfully accessing storage facilities, bakeries, and stores starting from Wednesday.
Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu terminated the latest truce with Hamas back in March, the blockade has persisted. This situation has pushed the overcrowded territory housing more than two million individuals into what many consider to be the worst humanitarian emergency since this current conflict started about 19 months prior.
The Israeli authorities assert that the limitations and military actions are aimed at compelling Hamas to free the remaining 59 captives who are still thought to be held hostage, with 24 considered deceased, as well as dismantling the group’s combat capabilities.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously noted that using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare constitutes a war crime.
Humanitarian organizations have cautioned that the people of Gaza face the imminent threat of starvation. Increasingly, there are worries that rising despair could result in a total collapse of societal structure. Although sporadic thefts took place throughout the conflict, aid personnel observe that recent events signify a major change—exhibiting greater disorderliness and spreading deeper into city areas.
Searchers look for food and medical supplies.
The most recent surge in looting started on Wednesday night in Gaza City after reports emerged that relief vehicles were moving from the south to the northern area. An aid employee mentioned that people with weapons attacked a bakery due to unconfirmed information suggesting it held food supplies.
Once they discovered it was empty, the team went on to plunder a soup kitchen run by an international aid organization within the al-Shati refugee camp, as stated in a security briefing distributed later that day.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stated that their staff was successfully evacuated on Wednesday following an incident where numerous individuals stormed their facility in Gaza City and seized medical provisions. According to Louise Wateridge, a high-ranking emergency officer at UNRWA, this theft was "a consequence of extreme and extended hardship."
The looting continued until Friday evening. Three eyewitnesses reported that multiple groups of armed individuals broke into at least two United Nations storage centers, overpowering both the law enforcement officers and local security personnel responsible for safeguarding these locations. It was noted that the warehouses had been mostly emptied prior to the incidents taking place.
“There were structured criminal groups,” stated Ahmed Abu Awad, a resident of western Gaza City, where several of these events occurred.
A nearby resident, Yahya Youssef, mentioned that he witnessed two successive evenings of clashes involving weapons between thieves and law enforcement agencies in the western part of Gaza City. These incidents occurred close to locations utilized by United Nations bodies and humanitarian groups.
Israeli night strikes result in at least 17 Palestinian deaths
Israeli air strikes conducted during the night in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis have resulted in the deaths of at least 17 Palestinians, as reported by local hospitals.
A strike hit a house inside the city’s refugee camp, resulting in the deaths of 11 relatives at once, as reported by the Nasser Hospital. The deceased included three females and three minors, with two infant siblings among them—a one-year-old and another who was merely one month old, according to the hospital statement.
A further air raid hit a residence in the Batn al-Samin district of Khan Younis. Moreover, the hospital also stated that two additional individuals were killed in a distinct attack on another house within the same city.
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