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 ” failed “ in addition to “prevent the looting of aid trucks and armed gangs from extorting protection money from humanitarian organizations”continue the NGOs, citing in particular an article from the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretzpublished Monday and titled: “Israeli military allows Gaza gangs to loot aid trucks and extort protection fees from drivers. »
In their report, the NGOs also state that “in certain cases”while Palestinian police “attempted to take action against the looters, they were attacked by Israeli troops”. “Many incidents take place near or in full view of Israeli forces, without them intervening, even when truckers ask for help. »
In the same report, the 29 NGOs denounce the reduction “at 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 2023.
