Gangs have looted hundreds of United Nations aid trucks as each convoy entered Gaza, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The Times spoke to Hazem Isleem, a Palestinian truck driver, who detailed the moment armed looters ambushed him, forcing him to drive off course and held him at gunpoint for hours as they pillaged thousands of pounds of aid intended for Gazans.
“It was terrifying,” Isleem reportedly said, “But the worst part was we weren’t able to deliver the food to the people.”
Gangs may replace Hamas
With Hamas dismantled in much of the Gaza Strip, armed gangs have filled the power vacuum, and many aid groups are now unwilling to risk delivering supplies, the report noted.
Earlier this month, UNRWA announced it would no longer deliver aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing due to the disorder and violence.
According to the report, a 55-pound sack of flour in Gaza can cost as much as $220, and UN-backed bakeries in southern and central Gaza have closed temporarily due to the unrest.
“Today, the ordinary Gazan’s dream, his aspiration, is to obtain a piece of bread,” Abdelhalim Awad, a bakery owner in central Gaza, told The Times. “I can’t say anything sadder than that.”