Hamas security forces have killed what they said were 20 armed looters in the first phase of a campaign to stamp out hijacking and theft of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Local sources and eyewitnesses told the Chinese news agency Xinhua there were heavy gunfire and explosions during the operation, which lasted for several hours in the border zone east of Rafah. Qatar-based Hamas official Bassem Naim said the looters targeted were young men from Bedouin tribes from the area, NBC news reported. The European Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies of 15 killed in the operation, according to to the French news agency AFP.
Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry said the operation – mounted in co-operation with Bedouin tribal committees – “aims to eradicate the phenomenon of [aid] truck thefts that have significantly impacted the community and caused famine-like conditions in southern Gaza”.
The joint operation followed Saturday’s violent pillage by criminal gangs of a UN World Food Programme and Palestinian relief agency Unrwa convoy carrying food supplies. Although local people resisted the looters and managed to retrieve some of the hijacked trucks, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said only 11 of the convoy’s 109 trucks arrived at its intended destination after entering through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing. “There was severe damage to the trucks and in some cases total loss of cargo,” he said.
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This was the worst case of looting “in terms of volume” since the situation spiralled out of control in recent weeks. Although the convoy had been due to travel on Sunday, the Israeli military “told it to depart on short notice via an alternate, unfamiliar route”, Mr Dujarric said.
An internal UN memo cited by the Washington Post explained why participation of Gaza tribesmen along with Hamas in the anti-looting campaign is critical. The memo identified a named figure from the Tarabin tribe “as the main and most influential stakeholder behind systematic and massive looting”. The memo also concluded that the gangs – which are rivals of Hamas – “may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence” or “protection” of the Israeli military.
Until Israeli snipers targeted Gaza’s civilian police, unarmed officers provided protection when desperate Gazans initially looted aid. In May, Israel occupied Rafah and shut down the crossing with Egypt, leaving Kerem Shalom the main entry point. Gangs formed by Bedouin tribesmen based in Israel, Sinai and Gaza initially used aid convoys to smuggle cigarettes, which were banned by Israel after the war began. From retrieving cigarettes from aid trucks, Bedouin gangs graduated to pillaging supplies to sell on at high prices on the black market.
Last month, the flow of aid into southern Gaza was restricted by Israel to an average of 37-40 trucks daily while the UN said at least 350 were needed to meet urgent needs. A UN official said no food had reached the 75,000-95,000 inhabitants of Jabalia refugee camp and the cities of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia since Israeli forces began a ground offensive in northern Gaza more than a month ago.
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