UN food trucks arriving in Gaza looted

(Patria) - United Nations trucks delivering food to Gaza were stopped and looted overnight, Gaza residents and merchants said yesterday, just hours after Palestinians flooded a distribution center run by a US-backed group, Reuters reports.

Israeli soldiers fired warning shots on Tuesday as crowds of people converged on a distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US organization that began delivering aid under a new system Israel claims will prevent aid from reaching Hamas.

The GHF said yesterday that it had resumed operations without incident and opened a second distribution point. In a statement, they disputed claims that the distribution center had been overrun the previous day, stating that security protocols had only been temporarily relaxed "to avoid mass reactions to finally receiving food" and that there had been no shooting or injuries among beneficiaries.

The United Nations and other international humanitarian organizations have refused to participate in the new distribution system, arguing that it violates the principle of neutrality and that aid should be distributed solely based on need.

As the new system began, the Israeli army allowed 95 UN and other organization trucks into the Gaza Strip, but three Gaza residents and three merchants stated that some trucks were targeted by looters.

A Palestinian transporter said that at least 20 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks were attacked just before midnight.

"Some trucks passed, and then people noticed. They woke up, some set up barricades on the road, intercepted and stole the goods," one witness told Reuters via a messaging app, wishing to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic.

Israeli forces, who resumed operations in Gaza in March after a brief truce, continued their attacks yesterday, killing at least 30 people, including eight members of a local journalist's family, according to Palestinian health services.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the Israeli killing of Hamas chief in Gaza, Mohamad Sinwar, marked a turning point towards "Hamas's complete defeat," adding that Israel was "taking control of food distribution" in Gaza.

Israel imposed a blockade on aid in March, accusing Hamas of appropriating supplies, which Hamas denies.

UN officials say they have not seen evidence of the militant group looting trucks since Israel eased the blockade this month. However, Hamas has called on people not to go to four distribution points in southern Gaza established under the new system, but denies blocking access to these locations.

To receive aid under the new system, food seekers would have to undergo checks to ensure they are not affiliated with Hamas, but witnesses said two days ago that there was no effective identification process, Reuters writes.

- What we saw yesterday was a very clear example of the danger of food distribution. We are exposing people to death and injury - said yesterday Ajith Sunghay, head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that 47 people were injured by firearms during the chaos.

Israel is facing growing pressure over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. France, Great Britain, and Germany have announced possible measures if the military campaign is not stopped, and Italy said yesterday that the offensive had become unacceptable.