Two killed in Gaza as aid convoy looted: WFP

GAZA STRIP: Two people have been killed in northern Gaza as gunmen attacked an aid convoy, the World Food Programme said Monday, prompting Hamas to accuse to UN agency of having failed to coordinate security.

Gazans face dire conditions after nearly 15 months of war, triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, with humanitarian agencies repeatedly warning not enough aid was reaching Palestinians in need due in part to looting as well as Israeli restrictions.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement that "a coordinated movement to bring in 40 trucks on behalf of humanitarian partners" on Sunday "was faced with violent, armed looting, resulting in the deaths of two".

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"Amidst the armed looting, five trucks of commodities were lost," it added.

Hamas, the Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip, said in a statement that "a catastrophic mistake" by the WFP "claimed the lives of two citizens and injured dozens with bullets".

"We hold it fully responsible and demand that it not violate the protocol followed regarding coordination to secure aid trucks," the statement said.

The WFP said in its statement that for the past two weeks, "nearly every movement of aid through crossings in south and central Gaza has resulted in violence, looting and tragic deaths due to attacks and the absence of law and order along convoy routes inside Gaza."

The organisation said that it was still following "procedures of coordination set in place in previous months" and that it had "repeatedly warned of the dangers of movement in the absence of law and order" in the Palestinian territory.

For months, both Israel and aid agencies including the WFP have noted widespread looting by armed gangs, as well as civilians desperate for supplies.

Humanitarian agencies also say the delivery routes they take through Gaza are sometimes blocked by Israeli military activity.

Aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, saying civilians are starving and that aid shipments in recent months have been lower than at any time during the war.