Jerusalem/New York, Nov 18 (EFE).- A convoy of 109 trucks carrying food from southern Gaza, chartered by the World Food Programme and the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees, was “violently looted” on Saturday.
The incident, near the Kerem Shalom border, occurred after the Israel Defense Forces changed the convoy’s time and route “at the last moment,” forcing it onto an unknown path, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York on Monday.
“The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid,” the UNRWA said on Monday on its X , blaming Israel, as the occupying power, for failing to “facilitate the safe delivery” of aid under international humanitarian law.
Dujarric stated that only 11 trucks reached their destination, a warehouse where humanitarian aid is distributed; it was later confirmed that another truck had been looted, making a total of 98 vehicles out of the control of humanitarian agencies, with a significant amount of food missing.
“Without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over 2 million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive,” the UNRWA added in its message.
The spokesperson said he did not know who might be responsible for the looting but recalled that UN agencies do not accept escorts from any party to a wartime conflict.
The extreme humanitarian situation in the enclave has raised alarm among the international community and lead organizations after more than a month of almost total blockade and siege of the northern third of the enclave, up to the city of Gaza.
A recent report from the Famine Review Committee warned that there “is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas within the northern Gaza Strip” if action is not taken within days.
The UNRWA also warned that at least eight bakeries in Deir al-Balah (central Gaza) and Khan Younis (southern Gaza) have been operating at a minimum for weeks while others have been forced to close entirely due to the “critical shortages of flour.”
Israel argued that there is no limit to the aid that can enter Gaza and blamed the UN and humanitarian organizations for not having enough resources to distribute the supplies.
On Monday, Israel announced the entry of 10,000 liters of fuel for hospitals in the north and 149 boxes of medical supplies and medicines for the Kamal Adwan hospital.
Fewer trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza in October (990, according to the UN) than in any other month since the war began on Oct. 7. EFE
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