UN suspends aid deliveries through main crossing into Gaza after convoy attacked

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has stopped aid deliveries through the main Karem Abu Salem crossing into Gaza due to security concerns, including theft by armed gangs.

“We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Unrwa head Philippe Lazzarini said, using the Israeli name for the crossing. “The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months. On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs.”

Hunger is worsening in Gaza amid Israel’s continued siege, bombardment and aid restrictions.

The agency reported last week that most of its attempts to deliver aid to northern Gaza had been denied by the Israeli forces even as looting of convoys continued.

“Out of the 91 attempts the agency has made to deliver aid to besieged north Gaza between October 6 and November 25,” it said, “82 have been denied and 9 impeded”.

“Yesterday, we tried to bring in a few food trucks on the same route. They were all taken,” Mr Lazzarini said.

“This difficult decision comes at a time hunger is rapidly deepening. The delivery of humanitarian aid must never be dangerous or turn into an ordeal. In Gaza, the humanitarian operation has become unnecessarily impossible due to the ongoing siege, hurdles from Israeli authorities, political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid, lack of safety on aid routes and targeting of local police.”

Unrwa’s announcement came soon after an Israeli attack on Saturday killed three contractors with the US charity World Central Kitchen, one of whom the Israeli military alleged was involved in the Hamas attack on southern Israel last October, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage.

Israel has been accused of using starvation as a tactic of its war on Gaza. The war, according to the local health ministry, has killed over 44,000 Palestinians so far.

Unrwa emergency officer Louise Wateridge told Al Jazeera that the attacks on aid convoys were ongoing since May. “That has led to desperation of people, who don’t have what they need and it has led and forced criminal activities.”

The UN reported last month that the war had killed 333 aid workers, including 243 Unrwa employees.

The same month, Israel announced the termination of its agreement with Unrwa, alleging that Hamas members had infiltrated the agency, a claim denied by the UN agency. The move aligned with recent Israeli legislation aimed at cutting ties with the UN agency, raising concerns about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where it has been serving millions of Palestinian refugees.