UNRWA suspends aid delivery to Gaza after lorries looted at gunpoint

The Karam Abu Salem border has been the main entry point for aid into Gaza since the Rafah crossing was destroyed in May

A Palestinian lorry arrives to pick up aid from a drop-off area near the Karam Abu Salem crossing on November 28. AFP

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The UN's agency for Palestinians said it would suspend aid delivery through the Karam Abu Salem border crossing, Gaza's primary route for humanitarian assistance, after the seizure and looting of lorries by armed groups on Saturday.

“We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza,” UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X on Sunday, using the Israeli name for the crossing.

“The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months. On November 16, a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs. Yesterday, we tried to bring in a few food trucks on the same route. They were all taken.”

The UN has reported several incidents of armed robberies of lorries that were finally allowed into Gaza, after hours and sometimes days of waiting at the border. Both Palestinian and UN officials have said Israel has failed to provide a safe environment for the distribution of aid in Gaza, by creating a power vacuum that has enabled armed groups to proliferate.

Gaza's neighbour Egypt, accused Israel of preventing humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza, "through the imposition of obstacles that are unjustified and illegal".

"Even the assistance that is allowed to enter is faced with difficulty in reaching those in need because of theft and sabotage due the lack of security and other dangers that prevent aid workers from doing their job," Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza.

Karam Abu Salem has been the main entry point for aid into Gaza since the Rafah border crossing closed in May. Director of the government media office in Gaza, Ismaeel Thawabta, said Israeli forces “bulldozed” the Rafah border crossing, “rendering it unusable”.

Subsequent media attention at the time allowed only dozens of trucks, nonetheless, through Rafah, he said. But these limited shipments of aid were used by the occupying Israeli forces for “propaganda purposes”, he told The National.

Mr Thawabta said armed groups continued to take small amounts of incoming aid.

“These rogue elements, operating in southern Gaza, have been stealing aid trucks meant for traders and the Palestinian people, tarnishing the reputation of the resilient population and worsening conditions for displaced persons,” he said.

Efforts to address the issue of lawless groups have achieved limited success. “These groups operate in areas where security teams cannot move due to the dire conditions imposed by the Israeli occupation. Moreover, their actions occur under the occupation’s watch, suggesting tacit approval of their harmful behaviour,” he said.

UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge last month accused Israel of creating an environment that allows lawlessness to prevail. She said Israeli authorities were “disregarding their legal obligations in creating a safe environment” and reinforcing “criminal activities and lawlessness”.

The situation remains critical as aid shortages have driven up market prices, intensifying the humanitarian catastrophe. The UN said that while it cannot track what has happened to looted aid deliveries, much of it has been “repurposed”. Witnesses described seeing aid meant for free distribution being sold for higher prices at markets – with flour being sold for up to five times the original price.

Israeli forces have killed 706 police officers and security personnel through air strikes and attacks since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October last year, Mr Thawabta said. “The occupation carried out 141 attacks on teams working to secure aid delivery, aiming to create security, administrative, governmental, and social vacuums,” he said.

After media pressure, some lorries began being allowed entry into Gaza, he said. “The government in Gaza prioritised delivering this aid to displaced persons and succeeded in doing so,” he told The National. However, the situation remains dire, he said.

Inas Hamdan, Gaza's Acting Public Information Officer at UNRWA, said looting is among one of the biggest threats to bringing aid in, as it places the lives of lorry drivers at risk. “We cannot continue to endanger the lives of drivers; some have been killed or injured while attempting to deliver aid under the current conditions that prevent successful delivery,” she told The National.

Despite UNRWA's announcement of halting aid temporarily, Ms Inas said it is working to address the issue.

“We will continue our efforts and persist in seeking solutions. It is imperative to ensure the safe flow of aid into Gaza and stop attacks on humanitarian workers. We renew our call for a ceasefire, safe passage, and the facilitation of an effective humanitarian response for over two million people trapped in the Gaza Strip who need everything after 14 months of brutal war.”

The Israeli army did not respond The National's repeated requests for comment.

- Additional reporting by Hamza Hendawi