UN food aid trucks in Gaza were stopped and looted overnight, according to accounts from local residents and merchants on Wednesday, just hours after a crowd of desperate Palestinians stormed a distribution site operated by a U.S.-backed group attempting to initiate a new aid delivery system.
These incidents underscore the growing difficulties in delivering humanitarian supplies to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians grappling with severe hunger and the threat of starvation following weeks of an intensified Israeli blockade.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces fired warning shots as crowds rushed a food distribution point managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—a U.S.-supported initiative recently launched under a new aid system that Israel claims will prevent supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas.
However, the United Nations and several international humanitarian organizations have refused to participate in the new system, arguing it violates the core humanitarian principle that aid must be distributed based solely on need, without political conditions.
As the initiative got underway, the Israeli military also permitted 95 aid trucks from the UN and other organizations into the Gaza Strip. Still, three Gaza residents and three merchants reported that a number of these vehicles were attacked by looters.
A Palestinian transport operator claimed that at least 20 trucks belonging to the UN World Food Programme were raided shortly before midnight.
“Some trucks managed to pass through, but then word spread,” a witness told Reuters via a chat application, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. “People woke up, set up roadblocks, and intercepted the vehicles to steal the goods.”
Meanwhile, Israeli military operations in Gaza continued. Airstrikes on Wednesday reportedly killed at least 15 Palestinians, including eight members of a local journalist’s family, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Concerns Over Aid Screening Process
Under the new aid distribution system, recipients must undergo screening to verify they are not affiliated with Hamas—an approach that has sparked deep suspicion among Palestinians.
However, witnesses at Tuesday’s distribution event said there appeared to be no proper identification system in place.
“What we saw yesterday was a stark example of the dangers involved in aid distribution,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “We are putting people at risk of death and injury,” he added, noting that 47 individuals had suffered gunshot wounds amid the chaos.
Video circulating on social media showed fences collapsing as people surged toward the aid crates, while private security contractors retreated.
“I’m a grown man, but I couldn’t hold back my tears watching women, men, and children run desperately for some food,” said Rabah Rezik, a 65-year-old father of seven from Gaza City.
Humanitarian and Political Tensions Mount
Israel imposed the blockade in March, alleging that Hamas was confiscating supplies intended for civilians—a claim the group denies. UN officials say they have seen no evidence of Hamas looting since Israel began easing restrictions earlier this month under international pressure.
Nonetheless, Hamas has advised Gazans not to go to the four distribution points established in southern Gaza for the new system. The group has rejected Israeli accusations that it is blocking access to these sites.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticized the UN and other agencies for refusing to engage in the new distribution system, calling their stance “sad and disgusting.”
“There were people who received food that wasn’t taken by Hamas. So far, the method of distribution has proven effective,” Huckabee told Reuters.
International pressure on Israel continues to rise over the worsening humanitarian disaster. France, Britain, and Germany have warned of potential action if military operations do not cease. On Wednesday, Italy also declared the offensive unacceptable and called for its immediate halt.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began in response to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and led to the abduction of 251 hostages into Gaza.
Since then, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, and large swathes of the densely populated coastal territory have been devastated. Over two million residents are now displaced, crammed into confined areas along the coast and in and around Khan Younis in the south.
