Gangs looting Gaza aid operate in areas under Israeli control, aid groups say

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1. Non paywall link: https://archive.ph/Ccuek

   CAIRO — As Gaza’s hunger crisis worsens, organized gangs are stealing much of the aid Israel allows into the enclave, operating freely in areas controlled by the Israeli military, according to aid group officials, humanitarian workers, transport companies and witnesses.

   Officials said criminal looting has become the greatest impediment to distributing aid in the southern half of Gaza, home to the vast majority of displaced Palestinians. Armed bands of men have killed, beaten and kidnapped aid truck drivers in the area around Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point into Gaza’s south, aid workers and transport companies said.

   The thieves, who have run cigarette-smuggling operations throughout this year but are now also stealing food and other supplies, are tied to local crime families, residents say. The gangs are described by observers as rivals of Hamas and, in some cases, they have been targeted by remnants of Hamas’s security forces in other parts of the enclave.

   An internal United Nations memo obtained by The Washington Post concluded last month that the gangs “may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence” or “protection” from the Israel Defense Forces. One gang leader, the memo said, established a “military like compound” in an area “restricted, controlled and patrolled by the IDF.”

   Aid organizations say Israeli authorities have denied most of their requests for better measures to safeguard convoys, including appeals for safer routes, more open crossings and permission to allow Gaza’s civilian police to protect the trucks. Israeli forces within view of the attacks have also failed on multiple occasions to intervene as looting was underway, aid workers, U.N. officials, transport workers and truck drivers say.

   The Israeli military has denied the allegations, saying in a statement that its troops have carried out “targeted countermeasures” against the looters “with an emphasis on targeting the terrorists and preventing collateral damage to the aid trucks and the elements of the international community.” The IDF is “working to enable and facilitate the transfer of aid,” the statement added.

   How we report on what’s happening in Gaza

   Like other news organizations, we are not able to report from the ground in Gaza because Israel has denied journalists access to the enclave, with the exception of military embeds. Our reporters and contributors — including journalists from Gaza — talk to residents, doctors and aid workers by phone and text message, corroborating their accounts through multiple sources, visual forensics and other tools.

   In the latest major incident, 98 out of 109 trucks carrying U.N. food aid from Kerem Shalom were ransacked by armed men overnight Saturday, according to U.N. humanitarian agencies and Gaza businessman Adham Shuhaibar, who had eight trucks in the convoy. The looters shot at the trucks and detained a driver for hours, Shuhaibar said. A statement from UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said the attack caused “injuries to transporters” and “extensive vehicle damage.”

   Muhannad Hadi, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, said “Gaza is basically lawless. There is no security anywhere.” Israel is “the occupying power,” he said, so “this is on them. They need to make sure that the area is protected and secured.”

   This story is based on more than 20 interviews with representatives from a range of international aid organizations, Palestinian businessmen involved in the transport of goods, and witnesses to attacks on humanitarian convoys. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing their access to Gaza or the safety of their staff. The Post also reviewed previously unpublished U.N. documents on the scale of the looting crisis and spoke with the gang leader aid groups believe is the main culprit behind the attacks.

2. This report confirms reporting from Gaza about the IDF encouraging looting to destabilize the situation.

   The IDF has relentlessly targeted any police or Gazan security forces from protecting the convoys but has allowed armed gangs to work under watchful eye of IDF soldiers. There has been numerous reports of hostilities between the gangs and the remains of the police forces in Gaza including reports today of an armed gang being ambushed.

   NSFW obviously https://x.com/suppressednws/status/1858640660879802457

3. Ah, nothing like the soft bigotry of low expectations. “Yes, it is a criminal gang ran by Palestinians, BUT it’s the Israelis fault for letting them run rampant because… this memo says so.”

   >The thieves, who have run cigarette-smuggling operations throughout this year but are now also stealing food and other supplies, are tied to local crime families, residents say.

   Better get UNRWA on the low cigarette numbers. That’s a violation of international and humanitarian law, as Israel MUST protect that precious tobacco supply, as well as those poor crime families just trying to survive.

4. What stupidity

   “yea Hamas was looting the aid the whole time… but that’s also Israel’s fault”

   Get real. More than enough food as been going into Gaza. Disband UNRWA

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