The Tzabar Battalion of the IDF's Givati Brigade thwarted an attempt by terrorists in the Gaza Strip to loot an aid truck carrying humanitarian relief for Gaza's civilian population, the IDF reported on Friday.
After securing the humanitarian corridor in Rafah, IDF scans reportedly identified Hamas terrorists stealing the contents of a humanitarian aid truck. Ground forces subsequently directed drones to strike the vehicles carrying the looters.
IDF troops identified a vehicle that pulled to the front of a line of aid trucks and an armed individual exiting the car next to a gathering of people in front of the trucks.
IDF transcripts reveal precision in avoiding civilian harm
A video and audio recording from IDF surveillance revealed the military's identification of assailants, including their weapons and other movements.
"The guy who is currently standing outside the window of the car that is vertical to the road is armed with an AK-47," one IDF soldier can be heard saying in Hebrew. "We saw one armed militant getting back inside the car and one armed militant getting out of the window… Two armed men in the car are turning right from the humanitarian road."
According to the recording, authorization to strike the terrorists attempting to flee the scene was given on the condition that the strike would not hit the truck.
Not an isolated incident
Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza have exhibited a history of stealing humanitarian aid meant for civilians, long before the fallout of the October 7 attacks. In July, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric spoke of the challenges of receiving and distributing aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and said some aid is getting through but very little.
According to Dujarric, aid is being dropped off from the Israeli side and left in an area where the UN and some private sector entities are also picking it up.
Dujarric also said the UN trucks that are picking up aid are doing it often at a significant cost because they are being either looted or attacked by criminal elements.
"The aid is being dropped off. But on the other side of that, you have other lawlessness and continuing conflict," he said. ' So it's not as if we're operating in a beautifully safe environment. We're operating in a highly challenging environment and continue to do our best to aid those who need it."
Dujarric said that United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi, who just returned from his third trip through the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, briefed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday.
"Mr. Hadi told us that he saw firsthand the consequences of the breakdown in public order and safety as he entered and exited Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing," Dujarric said. "He saw groups of men with sticks waiting for trucks to leave the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. All the trucks he passed were badly damaged with broken windshields, mirrors and hoods."
Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this report.