Local residents and aid workers have reported a surge in the looting of supply warehouses in northern Gaza, as conditions continue to deteriorate just over two months into Israel’s aid blockade.
Eyewitnesses, aid organisations and internal communications shared amongst security personnel working for humanitarian groups told media that both armed and unarmed individuals have been forcibly entering warehouses, bakeries and shops since Wednesday.
The blockade has remained in place since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended the most recent ceasefire with Hamas in March. As a result, the densely populated enclave of over two million people has been plunged into what is considered the most humanitarian crisis since the conflict began nearly 19 months ago.
Israeli authorities maintain that the restrictions and military pressure are intended to force Hamas to release the 59 hostages still believed to be in captivity — 24 of whom are presumed dead — and to dismantle the organisation’s militant infrastructure.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously stated that depriving civilians of food as a tactic of war amounts to a war crime.
Aid agencies have warned that the civilian population in Gaza is now on the brink of famine. There are growing concerns that the escalating desperation may lead to the complete breakdown of social order. While looting has occurred periodically during the war, aid workers note that this week’s incidents mark a significant shift — being more chaotic and extending further into urban centres.
Looters search for food and medical supplies
The latest wave of looting began on Wednesday evening in Gaza City, following reports that humanitarian lorries had arrived in the north from the southern region. One aid worker said armed individuals targeted a bakery based on rumours that it contained food reserves.
When it turned out to be empty, the group proceeded to ransack a soup kitchen operated by an international aid agency in the al-Shati refugee camp, according to a security update circulated that evening.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that its personnel were safely withdrawn on Wednesday after thousands of people broke into its field office in Gaza City and took medical supplies. Louise Wateridge, a senior emergency official at UNRWA, described the looting as “the direct result of unbearable and prolonged deprivation.”
Looting persisted through to Friday night. According to three witnesses, dozens of armed men forced their way into at least two UN storage facilities, overwhelming the police and local guards tasked with protecting them. The warehouses were already largely depleted before the break-ins occurred.
““There were organised gangs,” said Ahmed Abu Awad, a resident of western Gaza City, where some of the incidents took place.
Another local, Yahya Youssef, said he observed two consecutive nights of armed confrontations between looters and security forces along the streets of western Gaza City, near premises used by UN and aid organisations.
Israeli overnight attacks kill at least 17 Palestinians
Israeli airstrikes carried out overnight in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis have killed at least 17 Palestinians, according to local hospital records.
One of the strikes targeted a home within the city's refugee camp, killing 11 members of the same family, the Nasser Hospital confirmed. Among the victims were three women and three children, including two siblings—one aged one year and the other just one month, the hospital said.
Another airstrike struck a home in the Batn al-Samin area of Khan Younis. Additionally, two more people were reported dead in a separate strike on another house in the city, the hospital added.
