A large humanitarian aid convoy of 109 trucks was “violently looted” in the Gaza Strip this weekend, according to UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. Drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload their cargo, in what the agency calls one of the worst incidents of its type since the start of the conflict. “Only 11 trucks reached their destination,” said Louise Wateridge, UNRWA spokesperson currently in Gaza. The attackers shot the tires of the vehicles to immobilize them. “People are absolutely desperate. We've gotten to the point where we're seeing people literally fighting for a bag of flour,” she says.
The convoy was initially scheduled to enter Gaza on Sunday, but the Israeli military ordered it to leave a day early “on short notice via an unfamiliar alternative route,” according to the agency. Ms Wateridge points out that her organization had just 30 minutes to reorganize transport, “a huge logistical risk for drivers who had little access to mobile data to safely plan the new routes”.
UNRWA attributes the frequency of looting to the breakdown of law and order in wartime Gaza, the growing desperation of Palestinians and the policies of Israeli authorities who “continue to ignore their legal obligations under international law.” ensure the safe delivery of sufficient aid to Palestinians in the territory.
Humanitarian convoys, Wateridge points out, are not allowed to have armed guards. They can only count on “huge metal grilles and armor around the cab of the truck to protect the driver. It looks like something out of a science fiction film,” she describes.
