Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israeli attacks have led to a collapse in security In Gaza This made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to hungry Palestinians. Much of the limited aid input is accumulated by gangs and merchants and sold at exorbitant prices.
The flour kilogram (2.2 pounds) has recently reached $60, a kilogram of lentils worth up to $35. It goes beyond the means of most inhabitants of the territory, experts say There is a risk of hunger And where are people? Mostly it depends on savings 21 months of the Israeli-Hamas War.
Israel’s Decided this weekend To promote the delivery of more aid – under international pressure – has lowered prices somewhat, but it has not yet felt completely on the ground.
Market flour bags often have a UN logo, while other packages have markings indicating Israel’s support Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – Everything was originally handed out for free. It is impossible to know how much it is being used, but neither group can track who receives that assistance.
Rangawa In recent weeks, residents say the distribution of aid around them was perfect for strong people to steal food.
Mohamed Abutaha, who lives in a tent with his wife and children near Rafa city, said that an organized gang of young men is always in front of the crowd whenever he visits the GHF site.
“It’s a huge business,” he said.
All paths for assistance are plagued by confusion
The United Nations says up to 100,000 women and children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, aid groups and media say Their own staff are hungryand Gaza’s health ministry says dozens of Palestinians have died of hunger-related causes in the past three weeks.
Once the UN has given Israeli permission to distribute aid, the convoy is mostly attacked by armed gangs or overwhelmed by hungry crowds in buffer zones controlled by the military.
The United Nations World Food Program said last week that aid can safely reach the most vulnerable people only under a ceasefire after internal security was restored.
“In the meantime, given the urgent need for families to access food, WFP will accept the hungry population taking food from trucks, unless there is violence,” spokesman Abia Etifa said.
An alternative delivery system run by GHF, a Palestinian American contractor. Often performs a deadly gauntlet.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking food, mainly near the GHF site since May, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office, witnesses and local health officials. The military says they only fired warning shots when people approached the force, but GHF says the security contractors either used pepper spray only or fired them in the air to prevent engraving.
“You have to be strong and fast.”
A man in his 30s who insisted on anonymity for fear of retaliation said he visited the GHF site about 40 times since he opened and almost always returned with food. He sold most of it to merchants and other people to buy other essentials for his family.
Heba Judah, who visited the site many times, said that when people revive it and merchants also offer to buy it, an armed man steals the aid.
“To get food from an American organization, you have to be strong and fast,” she said.
The footage filmed and shared by Palestinians on the GHF site shows a chaotic scene. GHF says it is setting up separate lanes for women and children and increasing programs that provide direct assistance to the community.
United Nations delivery often deviates Fatal violence and chaosa crowd of thousands of people has a rapidly overwhelming truck in close proximity to the Israeli army. The United Nations says it does not accept protection from Israel and prefers to rely on community support.
The Israeli military did not respond to emails seeking comment on the reselling of the aid. Israel controls Hamas for extending the war by not surrendering, and denies allowing looters to operate in areas that denounce them.
“There is no hunger policy in Gaza, and there is no hunger in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Things changed dramatically in March
In most of the war, despite Israeli restrictions and occasional attacks and theft, UN agencies were able to safely provide assistance. Hamas-led police have followed alleged looters and merchants defending the convoy and resolding aid.
During the ceasefire earlier this year, Israel allowed 600 aid trucks to enter daily. There was no major confusion in the delivery and food prices were much lower.
The United Nations said mechanisms are in place to prevent the shift in organized aid. But Israel says Hamas was sucking it up, which does not provide evidence of widespread theft.
It all changed in March Israel ended the ceasefire and halted all importsIncludes food. Israel Most of Gaza has been seized What it said was a tactic to pressure Hamas to release hostages that were accused of on October 7, 2023, and an attack that sparked the war.
When Hamas-run police disappeared from the Israeli controlled area, Local tribes and gangs – Residents say some of the Israeli support it has taken over.
Israel began allowing trickle aid to enter in May. The GHF was set for the month with the stated goal of preventing Hamas from diverting aid.
Since then, Israel has allowed an average of around 70 tracks per day compared to the 500-600 the UN needs. The military said on Saturday it would allow 180 trucks that entered Sunday, with international air drops resuming, with the organization saying it had little effect.
On the other hand, food distribution I’m still struggling By chaos and violence, as seen near GHF sites or around the UN truck.
It is unclear how much security situation will improve if Israel suspends military operations during the day.
Both the UN and the GHF Hamas members could be in the crowd.
In response to a question from the Associated Press, GHF admitted, but said the system would prevent organized diversion of aid.
“The real concern we are working on is not whether individual actors can receive food, but whether Hamas can systematically control the flow of aid. On GHF sites, we cannot.
Hamas denied any assistance stealing. It is unclear whether it is involved in the trade in aid, but the fighter will take a great risk by operating in a coordinated manner that coordinates where the Israeli military zone and GHF sites are through which the UN trucks pass.
The United Nations says the only solution is a ceasefire.
UN officials are calling for Israel to lift the lockdown completely and flood Gaza with food. It will reduce the incentives for looting by reducing sufficient guarantees and prices for everyone.
Another ceasefire It includes a significant increase in aid and the release of Israeli hostages, but talks I’ve stalled.
Hamas began the war when fighters surged into Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and acquiring 251 hostages. Fifty prisoners are still being held in Gaza.
Israeli retaliatory attacks have killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. It does not distinguish between that number of civilians and combatants. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is run by medical professionals. Israel challenges the figures without providing itself.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Klaus in Ottawa, Ontario. Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled made a contribution from Cairo.
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