CAIRO/TEL AVIV: Israel has stopped aid entering Gaza for two days to prevent it being seized by Hamas, an official said on Thursday after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks who clan leaders said were protecting aid, not Hamas stealing it from civilians.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer later told reporters that aid was still entering Gaza from the south, but did not specify whether any supplies were entering the north.
A United Nations source said that all aid that was due to enter northern Gaza had been put on hold. Trucks carrying aid supplies often enter Gaza in the evening. Reuters could not immediately confirm if that would happen on Thursday and Friday. A representative for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.
They cited new unspecified information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. A video circulating on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that aid deliveries had been temporarily suspended for two days to allow the military time to develop a new plan.
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