Nearly 100 aid trucks carrying food into war-torn Gaza were hijacked and looted by masked gunmen, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA. Officials said a criminal Gaza gang held the drivers at gunpoint, forced them out and made them unload the aid as they crossed into Gaza on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Nearly 2 million Palestinians living in the enclave desperately need food and supplies. Humanitarian agencies warn food shortages in Gaza will worsen if aid isn’t quickly brought into the area.
“Without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over 2 million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive.”UNRWA officials said in a post on X.
UNRWA’s commissionergGeneral appeared on CNN last week, just days before the attack. He said Gaza is “a post-apocalyptic environment,” with “people just waiting to be killed, either by airstrike, by disease or even by hunger.”
He said there’s a “total breakdown of civil order” and that Gaza has become “an impossible environment to operate in.”
Authorities haven’t identified the gunmen who robbed the aid trucks.
UNRWA issued a separate statement on X, accusing Israeli authorities of ignoring their legal obligations under international law to meet the basic needs and allow the safe delivery of aid into Gaza.
UNRWA officials previously accused several members of the group of partaking in Hamas’ attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. At least two of the accused were confirmed to have been killed in Gaza. At least 21 others were fired by the UNRWA.
The Oct. 7 attacks started the Israel-Hamas war.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has previously accused Hamas militants of stealing aid.
Early Monday, Nov. 18, the Israeli military authority in charge of humanitarian affairs in the Gaza Strip, known as COGAT, wrote in a statement on X saying they’re working together on various measures that will help get more aid to Gazans in need.
