Israel is aiding criminal gangs in Rafah, some of who are affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), to loot humanitarian aid under military protection, sources in Gaza, including civil society leaders, police officials, and a UN official, have told The New Arab.
While refusing to intervene against these armed criminals, Israeli forces are opening fire against local policemen attempting to prevent the looting.
Sources in Gaza say the rise of organised gangs is Israel’s latest pretext to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and cause societal collapse, all while blaming Palestinians for their own suffering.
The Israeli government is also using this lawlessness to promote the idea of allowing foreign private security companies to operate in Gaza under a ‘humanitarian guise’.
The local police along with militants from Hamas and other armed factions have now declared war on criminal gangs to restore some public order.
Israeli-sponsored looting in broad daylight On 18 November, UN agencies finally managed to obtain entry for 109 trucks into southern Gaza after months of extreme Israeli restrictions that brought Gazans’ daily food intake down to 187-454 grams per person in October.
Before Israel’s war at least 500 trucks were entering Gaza per working day, which was still not enough to meet the population’s daily needs.
This small humanitarian success didn’t last long, however, as 98 of the trucks were looted by armed gangs in an area declared a “kill zone” under full Israeli military control, where no Palestinian is allowed.
A UN official told The New Arab that two of the trucks attempted to make it to the northern half of Gaza after obtaining the necessary permits from Israel, only to be stopped by the Israeli army for five hours at the Netzarim Corridor, which led to them being looted.
Both incidents exacerbated the levels of acute starvation present in southern Gaza and created giant queues outside the few remaining bakeries in Deir al-Balah.