Dozens of UN food lorries raided as desperation mounts in Gaza Strip
Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip
blocked and emptied dozens of lorries, the
UN World Food Programme
(WFP) said, as desperation mounts following
Israel's months-long blockade
and air strikes.
The WFP said that 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry people who took the food before the vehicles were able to reach their destination.
A nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population to the brink of famine.
While the pressure slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, organisations said there still is not nearly enough food getting in.
READ MORE
Hamas on Friday said it was reviewing a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire. President
Donald Trump
said that negotiators were nearing a deal.
A ceasefire would pause the fighting for 60 days, release some of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and much-needed food aid and other assistance, according to Hamas and Egyptian officials.
The WFP said the fear of starvation in Gaza is high despite the food aid that is entering.
'We need to flood communities with food for the next few days to calm anxieties and rebuild the trust with communities that more food is coming,' the agency said.
A witness in the southern city of Khan Younis said the UN convoy was stopped at a makeshift roadblock and unloaded by thousands of desperate civilians.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,000 Gaza residents, mostly women and children. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Most people carried bags of flour on their backs or heads. He said at one point a forklift was used to offload pallets from the stranded trucks.
The United Nations said earlier this month that Israeli authorities have forced them to use unsecured routes within areas controlled by the Israeli military in the eastern areas of Rafah and Khan Younis, where armed gangs are active.
An internal document shared with aid groups about security incidents, seen by the AP, said there were four incidents of facilities being looted in three days at the end of May, not including the convoy on Saturday.
The UN said it had been unable to get enough aid in because of fighting.
Meanwhile, Israel is continuing its military campaign across Gaza.
The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours.
It said three people were hit by Israeli gunfire early on Saturday morning in the southern city of Rafah. Three other people were killed – parents and a child – when their car was struck in Gaza City.
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli air strike. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP
The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 250 hostages.
Of those taken captive, 58 remain in Gaza but Israel believes 35 are dead and prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said there are 'doubts' about the fate of several others.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,000 Gaza residents, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. – AP
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