‘Order starting to break down’ — UN raises the alarm after looting of aid warehouses in Gaza

The United Nations (UN) agency in Gaza has expressed fears that civil order is beginning to break down in the city as a result of the ongoing bombardment by Israel.

In a statement on Sunday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said “thousands” of people broke into several of its warehouses and distribution centres, “taking wheat flour and other basic survival items like hygiene supplies”.

UNRWA is the main actor for the reception and storage of aid in the Gaza Strip.   

One of the warehouses, in Deir al-Balah, is where UNRWA stores supplies from the humanitarian convoys coming from Egypt, the statement said.

“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza. People are scared, frustrated and desperate. Tensions and fear are made worse by the cuts in the phones and internet communication lines. They feel that they are on their own, cut off from their families inside Gaza and the rest of the world,” UNRWA quoted Thomas White, the agency’s director, as saying.

Aid supplies to Gaza have been restricted since Israel began bombarding the densely-populated Palestinian enclave in response to an unprecedented attack by its ruling militant group Hamas three weeks ago.

Israel only permitted aid to enter Gaza last week and so far just over 80 trucks of aid have crossed into the city, the UN agency said.

UNRWA added that there was no convoy on Saturday due to the blackout in communications.

“Supplies on the market are running out while the humanitarian aid coming into the Gaza Strip on trucks from Egypt is insufficient. The needs of the communities are immense, if only for basic survival, while the aid we receive is meager and inconsistent,” White added.

“The current system of convoys is geared to fail. Very few trucks, slow processes, strict inspections, supplies that do not match the requirements of UNRWA and the other aid organizations, and mostly the ongoing ban on fuel, are all a recipe for a failed system.”

The UN agency called for a regular and steady flow of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip to respond to the needs especially as tensions and frustrations grow.

UNRWA was established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war.

The agency provides public services including schools, primary healthcare, and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.