UN chief says Gaza war in ‘cruelest phase' as aid trucks looted
Trucks carrying aid wait to enter the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing, in southern Israel, on May 22. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
GAZA CITY - The United Nations chief said on May 23 that Palestinians were enduring 'the cruelest phase' of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade.
Aid was just beginning to trickle back into the war-torn territory after Israel announced it would allow limited shipments to resume as it pressed a newly expanded offensive aimed at destroying Hamas.
Gaza civil defence agency official Mohammed al-Mughayyir told AFP at least 71 people were killed, while 'dozens of injuries, and a large number of missing persons under the rubble have been reported as a result of Israeli air strikes' on May 23.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said 'Palestinians in Gaza are enduring what may be the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict', adding that Israel 'must agree to allow and facilitate' humanitarian deliveries.
He pointed to snags, however, noting that of the nearly 400 trucks cleared to enter Gaza in recent days, only 115 were able to be collected.
'In any case, all the aid authorised until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,' he added in a statement.
'Meanwhile, the Israeli military offensive is intensifying with atrocious levels of death and destruction,' he said.
The World Food Programme said Friday that 15 of its 'trucks were looted late last night in southern Gaza, while en route to WFP-supported bakeries'.
'Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,' the UN body said in a statement, calling on Israeli authorities 'to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster'.
'No one should be surprised'
Aid shipments to the Gaza Strip restarted on May 19 for the first time since March 2, amid mounting condemnation of the Israeli blockade, which has resulted in severe shortages of food and medicine.
'I appeal to people of conscience to send us fresh water and food,' said Mr Sobhi Ghattas, a displaced Palestinian sheltering at the port in Gaza City.
'My daughter has been asking for bread since this morning, and we have none to give her.'
Palestinians gather to receive a hot meal at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat camp for refugees in Gaza on May 21.
PHOTO: AFP
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that 107 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on May 22.
But Mr Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on May 23 that the UN had brought in 500 to 600 per day on average during a six-week ceasefire that broke down in March.
'No one should be surprised let alone shocked at scenes of precious aid looted, stolen or 'lost',' he said on X, adding that 'the people of Gaza have been starved' for more than 11 weeks.
'Enough!'
The Israeli military said that over the past day, its forces had attacked 'military compounds, weapons storage facilities and sniper posts' in Gaza.
'In addition, the (air force) struck over 75 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,' it added.
The military said on May 23 afternoon that air raid sirens were activated in communities near Gaza, later reporting that 'a projectile that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip was intercepted' by the air force.
In Gaza's north, Al-Awda hospital reported on May 23 that three of its staff were injured 'after Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs' on the facility.
The civil defence agency later said it had successfully contained a fire at the hospital.
An AFP journalist saw large plumes of smoke billowing above destroyed buildings in southern Gaza after Israeli bombardments.
'Have mercy on us,' said a distraught Mr Youssef al-Najjar, whose relatives were killed in an air strike in the main southern city of Khan Yunis.
'We are exhausted from the displacement and the hunger – enough!'
Israel resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, ending the ceasefire that began on Jan 19.
On May 23, Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,673 people had been killed in the territory since then, taking the war's overall toll to 53,822, mostly civilians.
Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. AFP
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