As Hunger Spreads in Gaza, Gangs Looting Aid Become Increasingly Brazen
Palestinians carry bags of flour they grabbed from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza City this week.Credit: Kosay Al Nemer/Reuters
Both individuals and organized gangs are participating in the looting. The gangs exploit the fact that Hamas police officers are unable to go out armed and in uniform to protect the aid trucks and the empty and half-destroyed homes in areas the IDF has withdrawn from, for fear of being targeted by the army. Reuters reported last week that Ambassador David Satterfield, the U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, said that Israeli forces had killed Palestinian police protecting a UN aid convoy in Rafah.
As a result, he said at a meeting of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the police have refused to protect the convoys. Satterfield said the police escorts include Hamas members but also officers with no direct affiliation to the militant group. Without arms and uniforms, the police lack deterrence.
UN and humanitarian organizations involved in bringing aid into the Gaza Strip have discussed possible solutions to protect trucks and their drivers. One of the proposals is to deploy police officers in the neighborhoods in which they were stationed in the past – possibly unarmed and in plain clothes – to deter gangs. The use of private security companies has also been discussed, but their personnel too would not be able to carry weapons, as they would risk being killed by Israeli forces.
The issue of security for humanitarian aid supplies has been raised in talks with Israeli representatives. Israel must prove that it is complying with the instructions of the International Court of Justice and allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. A Western diplomat told Haaretz, “Looting breaks the food distribution chain after it has been brought with great effort to the Gaza border.” The diplomat added that the food brought to the border was in any event far from sufficient.