Gaza authorities claim oxycodone found in US-dispatched flour bags

Palestinian authorities in Gaza have alleged that narcotic substances were discovered in flour bags distributed through US-run aid points, escalating tensions amid ongoing humanitarian and military crises in the besieged enclave.

In an official statement on Friday, Gaza’s government media office claimed that Oxycodone, a powerful prescription painkiller, was found inside flour bags distributed to civilians.

The office suggested the pills may have been "deliberately ground or dissolved" into the flour, calling the act a "direct assault on public health."

This is a “heinous crime” aimed at spreading addiction and weakening Palestinian society from within, the statement read. 

It squarely blamed Israel, accusing it of using drugs as a "soft weapon in a dirty war against civilians," and called the alleged act part of what it described as the ongoing Israeli genocide.

The accusations come amid growing international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, which began in October 2023.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, over 56,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli military campaign. Since May 27 alone, at least 549 people have reportedly died near aid centres and food distribution points.

The statement follows Israel’s controversial attempt to manage humanitarian aid independently, bypassing United Nations distribution channels. The move was widely criticised by the UN and international community, who viewed it as an attempt to force population transfers from northern to southern Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel is facing international legal scrutiny, including arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.