15.11.2024, 13h55
The Israeli army favors the looting of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, in particular by attacking the Palestinian police forces who are trying to combat it, 29 NGOs accused in a joint report on Friday.
“Looting is a recurring problem, a result of Israel’s targeting of the remaining police forces in Gaza, the shortage of essential goods, the lack of roads and the closure of most crossing points, and the desperation of the population which results in these disastrous conditions,” point out these NGOs, including Médecins du monde, Oxfam and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
The Israeli army also “fails” to “prevent the looting of aid trucks and armed gangs from extorting money from humanitarian organizations for their protection”, continue the NGOs, citing in particular an article from the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz, published Monday and headlined: “Israeli army allows Gaza gangs to loot aid trucks, extort protection fees from drivers.”
Reduction in humanitarian aid
In their report, the NGOs also claim that “in some cases”, while Palestinian police officers “attempted to take action against looters, they were attacked by Israeli troops”.
“Many incidents take place near or under the eyes of Israeli forces, without them intervening, even when truckers ask for help.”
In the same report, the 29 NGOs denounce the reduction “to a historically low level” of humanitarian aid authorized by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
According to these, an average of 37 humanitarian trucks entered the Palestinian territory every day in October and 69 daily in the first week of November, compared to 500 before October 7, 2023, the date of the start of the war triggered by the unprecedented attack. of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel.
The 29 NGOs also recorded seven attacks against humanitarian personnel, the majority attributed to the Israeli army, between October 10 and November 7, during which eleven humanitarian workers and three children were killed.
On October 13, the United States once again asked the Israeli authorities to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, under penalty of seeing American military aid restricted, they point out.
“Not only did Israel not meet American criteria”, but its army “at the same time took measures which considerably worsened the situation on the ground”, particularly in northern Gaza.
The situation is “even more disastrous than a month ago,” eight NGOs, including Save the Children, Care and Mercy Corps, recently pointed out in another press release.
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