“Worst tragedy:” armed gangs loot over 100 aid trucks in Gaza: UNRWA

In a devastating incident,109 aid trucks bound for Gaza, amid an acute food shortage in the enclave, were violently plundered and disappeared, a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) official confirmed to the media.

According to reports, 98 trucks were lost, while some were saved as Palestinians fought back against armed gangs wielding automatic rifles, who also injured several truck drivers.

Senior emergency officer for UNRWA, Louise Wateridge described the looting as the "worst incident" since the Israeli war on Gaza began in October 2023.

“This incident highlights the severity of access challenges in bringing aid into southern and central Gaza,” Wateridge stated.

“The urgency of the crisis cannot be overstated. Without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over two million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive,” she added.

The convoy, carrying aid from UNRWA and the World Food Programme, was instructed by Israeli authorities to use an unusual route through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing into Gaza.

UNRWA has not specified the identities of the plunderers. However, there have been incidents where some Israeli settlers forcibly blocked aid trucks from entering Gaza.

The Israeli government also warned the aid organisations about armed gangs roaming around the routes to Gaza. 

Hamas condemned the incident, vowing to deal with the plunderers with an “iron fist.” Meanwhile, Gaza’s Interior Ministry reported that at least 20 individuals involved in the looting had been killed.

The United Nations (UN) has warned about Israel’s deliberate policy of starving Palestinians, who are grappling with famine and disease that are taking their lives at a more rapid pace than Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, submitted a report on Monday to the UN General Assembly, detailing how the food shortage and deplorable hygienic conditions in the besieged enclave pose a serious threat to the lives of Palestinians amid the Israeli military offensive.

“Israel’s ‘starvation campaign’ in Gaza is killing more people than bombs and bullets,” the report said.

The findings of the report highlighted that the destruction of Gaza's food supply chain, agricultural land, ports, and fishing vessels completely cut off all sources of food for Palestinians.

“In turn, Israel then used humanitarian aid as a political and military weapon to harm and kill the Palestinian people in Gaza,” the report read,

While humanitarian aid is the last and final option for Palestinians, Israel's siege of the enclave is also depriving them of access to it.

Several human rights organisations, including the UN, have been warning about famine-like conditions in Gaza since July.

The overall Palestinian death toll since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza has reached at least 43,846 with more than 103,740 wounded. Thousands more remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.