Food aid convoy for northern Gaza looted after delay at Israeli checkpoint [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Food aid convoy for northern Gaza looted after delay at Israeli checkpoint

Trucks attacked by desperate people as logistical obstacles and restrictions imposed by Israel limit urgently needed aid

Jason Burke Jerusalem
Wed 6 Mar 2024 16.38 GMT
Last modified on Wed 6 Mar 2024 17.26 GMT

A new drive by the United Nation’s World Food Programme to deliver aid to an estimated half a million people at risk of famine in northern Gaza has failed amid further scenes of chaos and violence.

A 14-truck convoy destined for northern Gaza was looted on Tuesday after being held at an Israeli army checkpoint for several hours, aid workers said. As the convoy turned back after the delay, it was attacked and 200 tonnes of food looted by “a large crowd of desperate people”.

Insecurity, logistical bottlenecks, ongoing fighting and restrictions on movement imposed by Israel have combined to limit aid deliveries to a fraction of what is needed, aid officials said.

The WFP convoy was the first to try to reach northern Gaza since insecurity forced the agency to pause efforts on 20 February despite looming starvation, because Israeli forces had twice shot at desperate Palestinians trying to get food from WFP trucks, senior WFP officials told the Guardian earlier this week.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/06/food-aid-convoy-bound-for-northern-gaza-looted-after-being-stopped-at-israeli-checkpoint