Clash Erupts Over Aid Flow Into Gaza: Armed Gangs Intercept Supply Trucks

Criminal groups and people in dire situations raided some of the initial aid supply vehicles that arrived. Gaza after an 11-week blockade , aid personnel and locals reported.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported that 15 of its vehicles were plundered on Thursday evening as they headed towards bakeries in southern Gaza, and they urgently called for safeguarding measures.

“Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,” the agency said.

“The WFP cannot function securely within a distribution framework that restricts the number of bakeries and locations where Gaza’s residents can obtain food.”

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, recognized certain damages and pointed out an area described as a "no man's land" past the Kerem Shalom crossing point, where shipments face risks.

Fletcher suggested “starving, desperate people” were responsible, but added that gangs were also a threat. Gaza residents have reported attacks on aid trucks by armed criminals.

Over 100 trucks loaded with vital provisions have entered Gaza this week, as Israel eased a blockade that had been in effect since 2 March under pressure from allies .

But WFP chief Cindy McCain described this as a “tiny drop in the bucket” and said the agency had enough food to feed two million Gazans for two months waiting for permission to cross the border.

Motasem Dalloul, a journalist in Gaza, said a group of “thieves and gangsters … intercepted a convoy and attempted to steal the aid” on Thursday night.

Volunteers from the so-called "popular committees" - grassroots groups organizing opposition to the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, which include members of significant local clans - hurried to the scene to stop the thieves from taking the assistance, according to Dalloul.

Israeli attacks 'allow theft of assistance'

He stated that the Israeli military has directed its attacks at the security personnel safeguarding relief supplies—volunteers who are part of the civilian police force affiliated with the Hamas-led government.

Dalloul alleged that the Israelis had attacked these groups multiple times, and added that the looting gangs receive protection from the Israeli occupying forces.

The media arm of the Hamas administration stated on Friday that six of their security personnel were slain during Israeli attacks while they were protecting relief supplies. They also charged Israel with "acting systematically to facilitate the plundering of aid and medical supply vehicles."

A representative of the Israeli military declined to comment on these allegations. Earlier, Israel admitted to striking the civil defense forces under Hamas control that were overseeing assistance efforts.

Earlier this week, a cluster of tribal heads in Gaza accused Israel Of permitting gangs to loot aid supplies and obstructing efforts to secure convoy operations, suggesting this was a tactic aimed at enforced relocation.

Humanitarian personnel have formerly charged Israel with turning a blind eye To organized crime targeting aid.

Georgios Petropoulos, who leads the UN aid coordination office in Gaza, stated in December: "The ongoing acceptance by the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] of excessive levels of plundering in regions they supposedly and practically control militarily."

Mohammed Shehada, a Gazan political analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, accused Israel of creating a “manufactured crisis” around looting in order to legitimise a controversial US-Israeli plan For aid hubs protected by American private military contractors, which have been turned down by the UN, Red Cross, and relief organizations.

The initiative, spearheaded by the recently-established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which includes ex-CIA agents and Blackwater employees, aims to be operational by the end of this month. Satellite imagery supports these plans. Work is currently underway at multiple locations. .

However, critics argue that this plan might lead to large-scale relocation of people from the northern areas to the southern regions where these facilities are situated, potentially subjecting those who sign up to lengthy and risky trips.

Israel asserts that a different method of aid distribution is essential because of Hamas taking large amounts of assistance, yet hasn’t presented proof to support this allegation; meanwhile, the UN has refuted the statement.

'No assistance is getting to us in northern Gaza.'

People in northern Gaza have shared The i Paper that No assistance is getting to the region. And steps are being taken to replace them.

Beesan Nateel, an author and researcher working with the Tamer Institute for Community Education located in Gaza City, stated: "There isn't sufficient flour available, and we're also beginning to face shortages of canned food."

The Israeli forces are gradually forcing us out. They conduct arbitrary airstrikes and instruct us to leave. Flyers warn us against staying at home. However, there isn’t much we can do. Therefore, we continue to stay put.

numerous individuals are out on the roads lacking food. They lack a place to rest. Hunger plagues them as they face various dangers.

Ahmed Matar, who is also from northern Gaza, mentioned that his family has received orders to leave their home.

"We're now in a perilous region. We have no idea which direction to head," he stated.

Netanyahu 'implementing Trump’s plan' to oversee Gaza

Israel is increasing an attack in Gaza titled "Gideon's Chariots," with thousands of additional troops set to be dispatched over the next few days, according to the state-run media outlet. Kan News reported .

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The expanded operation has “the aim of conquering new territories and remaining in them, along with extensive evacuation of the population to the south of the Strip,” the network reported.

Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Israel would control “all of Gaza” after this offensive, and the war would not conclude until Israel "implements the Trump plan," alluding to the US President’s proposal. A proposal in February suggested relocating the people from Gaza to another country. .

Yaakov Amidror, a previous IDF general who has also worked as an advisor to Netanyahu and currently serves as a military commentator, stated The i Paper that the military was getting ready for extensive, prolonged missions in the northern region, and that residents needed to relocate to the southern area.

We prefer not having civilians on the battlefield," he stated, further noting, "Those remaining in the northern area will likely face significant challenges obtaining food.

However, Amidror dismissed the critique that this planned large-scale relocation equated to ethnic cleansing , as he maintained that civilians would ultimately be permitted to come back, even though Netanyahu supported Trump’s suggestion for them to relocate overseas.

"It will require some effort to tidy up the northern area before the residents can return," he stated.