Crowds in Khan Younis raided some 110 World Food Program trucks carrying flour on Saturday, a day before it was to be distributed to civilians in the Strip.

“The catastrophic situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in New York on Friday. “Any aid that gets into the hands of people who need it is good,” he said, adding that the aid deliveries so far have had “very, very little impact.”

Gazans loot the humanitarian aid from WFP trucks

2 View gallery Gazans loot the humanitarian aid from WFP trucks

The U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) an American foundation distributing food to the civilian population in dedicated distribution areas set up by Israel, claiming that it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians.

Israel ultimately wants the U.N. to work through the GHF, which is using private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza.

The U.N. says that in the past 12 days, it has only managed to transport some 200 truckloads of aid into the Strip, hindered by insecurity and Israeli access restrictions. It was not immediately clear how much of that aid reached those in need. It said some trucks and a World Food Program warehouse have also been looted by desperate, hungry people.

2 View gallery Food distribution in Deir al Balah, central Gaza ( Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana / AP )

U.N. officials have also criticized Israeli limitations on what kind of aid they can provide.

“Israeli authorities have not allowed us to bring in a single ready-to-eat meal. The only food permitted has been flour for bakeries. Even if allowed in unlimited quantities, which it hasn’t been, it wouldn’t amount to a complete diet for anyone,” said Eri Kaneko, U.N. humanitarian affairs spokesperson.

Some of the recipients of GHF aid said the packages include some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar.

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“More aid would actually get to the people if you would collect the aid waiting for you by the crossings,” COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said to the U.N. in a posting on X on Friday.

Another day, another UN official making slanderous allegations for political reasons.

This agenda driven media spectacle undermines the very humanitarian principles the UN claims to uphold.

The UN must stop acting like only aid delivered through its own channels qualifies as… https://t.co/iWmim3vfcu — COGAT (@cogatonline) May 30, 2025

However, the U.N. said that on Tuesday the Israeli military denied all its requests to access Kerem Shalom to pick up the aid. And on Thursday, when 65 trucks of aid managed to leave the crossing, all but five turned back due to intense fighting.

Five trucks of medical aid managed to reach the warehouses of a field hospital, but “a group ‎of armed individuals stormed the warehouses… looting large quantities of ‎ medical equipment, supplies, medicines and nutritional supplements that was intended for ‎malnourished children,” Dujarric said.

ALBAWABA – Following the looting of 23 UAE charity vehicles in Israeli military-controlled parts of Gaza, the United Arab Emirates has accused Israeli soldiers of failing to secure humanitarian assistance convoys. Concerns have been raised by the occurrence over the safety of assistance efforts and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

The UAE-led humanitarian initiative “Gallant Knight 3” reported in a statement released on Saturday that many trucks carrying flour and other necessary bakery supplies had entered Gaza on Wednesday, providing some short-term optimism for the resumption of bakery operations across the war-torn region. Only 24 of the 103 assistance trucks that were supposed to arrive were permitted access, and only one of those vehicles was able to transfer its cargo to the appropriate warehouses.

The operation blamed the failure on the Israeli army’s insistence on risky delivery routes, which left the relief convoys vulnerable to robbery and pillage inside what it called a “red zone”—an area that is completely under Israeli military control. Due to the loss of most of the cargo, Gazans were deprived of critically needed food supplies.

Right now, the aid is stolen by Israel-backed gangs. They looted 23 of the 24 aid trucks the UAE brought through the IDF blockade into Gaza.https://t.co/tZilDQnjfz May 24, 2025

The scenario was seen as a purposeful impediment to humanitarian activities, and “Gallant Knight 3” denounced the thievery. According to the mission, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza might worsen if 2.3 million residents are denied access to food and assistance.

To guarantee that assistance reaches its intended destinations without hindrance or delay, the UAE urged the international community and pertinent parties to step in right away and create safe and secure humanitarian corridors.

The UAE reaffirmed its steadfast support for the Palestinian people in spite of the setback, saying that the “Gallant Knight 3” mission would keep working to provide Gaza with urgent aid.

As relief organizations grapple with logistical and security issues in the face of ongoing fighting, the event heightens worries about the safety of humanitarian activities in the area.

Chaos spreads as desperate Gazans wait for food to arrive

8 days ago Share Save Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf, Alice Cuddy in Jerusalem, and Mallory Moench in London Share Save

EPA

The limited amount of food that trickled into Gaza after an Israeli blockade was partly lifted has sparked chaotic scenes, as hunger continues to spread. Bakeries distributing food were overwhelmed by crowds and forced to close on Thursday, and armed looters attacked an aid convoy overnight – sparking a firefight with Hamas security officials who, witnesses say, were then targeted by an Israeli drone strike. The incident in central Gaza, recounted to BBC News by eyewitnesses, local journalists and Hamas officials, underscores the deteriorating security situation in Gaza, where governance has collapsed and lawlessness has spread. A convoy of 20 trucks, co-ordinated by the World Food Programme (WFP) and carrying flour, was en route from the Kerem Shalom crossing to a WFP warehouse in the city of Deir al-Balah. It was being escorted by six Hamas security officers when it was ambushed by five unidentified gunmen, who fired at the tyres of the vehicles and tried to seize the cargo. The Hamas security team engaged the attackers in a brief firefight, witnesses told BBC News. Shortly after the clash began, Israeli drones targeted the Hamas unit with four missiles, killing six officers and wounding others.

EPA

Hamas issued a statement condemning the attack as “a horrific massacre” and accused Israel of deliberately targeting personnel tasked with protecting humanitarian aid. In a statement, the IDF said one of its aircraft identified “several gunmen, including Hamas terrorists”, near humanitarian aid trucks in central Gaza and “struck the gunmen following the identification”. The IDF said it would make “all efforts possible to ensure that the humanitarian aid does not reach the hands of terrorist organizations”. A small amount of food has been allowed to cross into Gaza this week: around 130 lorries carrying aid have crossed the border in the last three days, after an 11-week blockade was partly lifted by the IDF. The UN says 500 to 600 trucks of supplies a day are needed in Gaza. LIVE: Gazans tell BBC more aid needed as Israel eases blockade International agencies, including the UN and the WFP, have repeatedly warned that the growing insecurity is hampering the delivery of desperately needed food and medical supplies to the population – the majority of whom are displaced. Israel says the blockade was intended to put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages still held in Gaza. Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing supplies, which the group has denied. The WFP said 15 of its aid trucks were looted overnight on Thursday, and that “hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity”. The organisation called on Israel to help ensure the safe passage of supplies. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, an agency that supports Palestinian refugees, wrote on X that no one should be “surprised let alone shocked” that aid had been looted because the “people of Gaza have been starved [and] deprived of the basics including water and medicines for more than 11 weeks”. Earlier on Thursday, angry and hungry Palestinians crowded outside bakeries in Gaza in a desperate attempt to obtain bread, but the situation quickly descended into chaos, forcing distribution to halt. It forced most bakeries to suspend operations, citing a lack of security. Many residents across Gaza voiced growing frustration over the aid distribution method and criticised the WFP, which oversees food deliveries. Some called for an immediate shift from distributing baked bread to handing out flour directly at a rate of one sack per family. Locals argue that distributing flour would allow families to bake at home or in tents – which, they say, would be safer than waiting at the overcrowded aid centres.

EPA

Palestinians on the ground have told of the deepening humanitarian crisis and the collapse of basic services facing people living among the fighting or forced from their homes, as the IDF continues to ramp up its military operations against Hamas. From a displacement camp in southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi, Abd al-Fatah Hussein told BBC News over WhatsApp that the situation is getting worse due to the number of people in the area. The father-of-two said there is “no room” in al-Mawasi, where people ordered by the Israeli military to leave their homes are being told to go for safety. “There is no electricity, no food, insufficient potable water, and no available medicine,” he said. “The repeated air strikes, especially during the night, add to the suffering.” He described the aid trucks coming in as a “drop in the ocean of Gaza’s needs”. When he announced some supplies would finally be allowed into the strip earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said only a “basic amount” would be able to cross. Humanitarian organisations have warned the amount of food entering Gaza in recent days is not close to what is needed to feed the 2.1 million people living there, while the UN has said about 500 lorries entered the territory on average every day before the war. Widespread famine, humanitarian groups have warned, looms over Gaza. Secretary-General António Guterres said 400 trucks had been cleared to enter Gaza this week, but supplies from just 115 had been collected. He said nothing had “reached the besieged north” so far. While some flour, baby food and medical supplies had made it into Gaza, and some bakeries in the south had begun operating again, Guterres said that amounted to a “teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required”. “The supplies – 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks – are waiting,” he added. Rida, a midwife with charity Project HOPE in Deir al-Balah, said women come to her clinic suffering from fainting, having sought medical help without eating breakfast. Many of them eat only one meal a day and subsist on high energy biscuits given by the charity, she said.

Project HOPE