Nearly 100 trucks filled with essential food supplies for Palestinians were subjected to brutal looting shortly after they entered Gaza, marking a significant loss during 13 months of ongoing conflict. This incident highlights the growing dire circumstances as hunger escalates, as reported by two UN agencies.
The convoy, consisting of aid provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme (WFP), was ordered by Israeli officials to take an uncharted route from the Kerem Shalom border crossing with little notice, according to Louise Wateridge, a Senior Emergency Officer with UNRWA.
Out of the 109 trucks in the convoy, a staggering 98 were raided, resulting in injuries among some transporters, although specific details about the perpetrators remain undisclosed. “This incident underscores just how severe the access challenges are for delivering aid into central and southern Gaza,” Wateridge emphasized.
A spokesperson from WFP corroborated the reports of looting, stating that many paths within Gaza are currently impassable due to escalating security concerns. An Israeli official countered by stating that since the onset of the conflict, Israel has been attempting to address the humanitarian crisis, attributing the main issues with aid delivery to UN distribution hurdles.
Earlier in the week, a UN aid official highlighted that humanitarian access in Gaza is at a critical low, making deliveries, especially to the besieged northern areas, extremely difficult.
Meanwhile, recent Israeli military interventions across Gaza have resulted in the deaths of 20 Palestinians, including six individuals in strikes targeting tents that housed displaced families, as reported by medical personnel.
Tragically, four people—including two children—lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike on a makeshift tent camp in Al-Mawasi, a region designated as a humanitarian zone. Further casualties followed in temporary shelters in Rafah and through drone strikes, according to health officials.
In northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, an Israeli missile struck a residence, claiming at least two lives and inflicting injuries on several others. Later, an airstrike targeted a home in Gaza City, resulting in seven fatalities and ten injuries.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, four more individuals were reported dead due to an Israeli airstrike. On the previous day, multiple casualties were recorded in Beit Lahiya following an Israeli airstrike targeting a multi-story residential building.
The Israeli military, engaged in combat against Palestinian militant group Hamas since October 2023, claimed that they were targeting “terrorist objectives” in Beit Lahiya. As for recent events, there has been silence from Israeli officials.
The Gaza health ministry reported that Israeli strikes over the last 24 hours have resulted in the deaths of 76 Palestinians. In Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, grieving relatives mourned those lost in the airstrikes, gathering beside bodies solemnly wrapped in blankets for their final farewells. “My brother isn’t the only victim; many have perished in this brutal manner,” lamented Mohammed Aboul Hassan, who lost his sibling in the attacks. “We will endure, remain patient and resilient. By God’s will, we will not waver,” he declared.
Israel has deployed tanks and soldiers into Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in Gaza, as part of a campaign to combat Hamas militants and thwart further attacks.
Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, reported that his facility is under siege from Israeli troops, resulting in the World Health Organization’s difficulties in delivering critical supplies like food and medicine. He noted a disturbing rise in child malnutrition cases and described the hospital’s operation at a bare minimum. “We receive distress calls every day, but cannot provide assistance due to a lack of ambulances. The situation is catastrophic,” he stated.
According to Israel, hundreds of militants have been eliminated in northern parts of Gaza, areas which are now cut off from the bustling Gaza City, complicating the residents’ escape. Meanwhile, armed factions of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad claim to have successfully attacked numerous Israeli soldiers using anti-tank rockets and mortar fire during this tumultuous period.
The Hamas-led Gaza health ministry estimates that over 43,800 individuals have lost their lives since the conflict erupted on October 7, 2023. Initial attacks carried out by Hamas militants claimed around 1,200 lives in various southern Israeli communities, and they continue to hold dozens of hostages—approximately 250—whom they brought back to Gaza.
Jordan and Qatar have issued calls for immediate action to address the “unprecedented humanitarian disaster” in northern Gaza, attributing the blame to “Israel’s failure to allow aid into the region.” The United States, Israel’s primary military ally, recently stated that Israel is not breaching US laws concerning the volume of aid flowing into Gaza but urged for better access.
Joyce Msuya, the interim chief of the UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA), has painted a grim picture in her communications with the UN Security Council. “The daily suffering we witness in Gaza appears limitless,” she stated last week, adding, “Living conditions across Gaza are no longer suitable for human survival.”
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
