Despite the limited and inadequate flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the bulk of it is being hijacked by gangs and looters amid a breakdown in law and order, residents and officials say, with little reaching the most desperate.
Efforts by Hamas authorities to restore order have faltered under relentless Israeli bombardment. Even local tribal coalitions trying to protect aid convoys have been targeted.
On Monday, five men were killed and 13 others wounded when Israeli forces bombed a group tasked with securing trucks entering from the Zikim crossing in northwestern Gaza. The strike came just as the trucks rolled in, leaving them vulnerable to immediate looting by armed groups and opportunistic thieves.
Amid widespread hunger, Gazans are left to fend for themselves.
“People are fighting for scraps,” said Jamil Hasna, a resident of Sheikh Radwan district. He walked 3 kilometers over four days to the outskirts of al-Sudaniya hoping to collect a 25-kilogram sack of flour, managing to get one just once, only to be beaten by a group of thugs who stole it.
“I waited for hours and ended up with bruises instead of bread,” he told Asharq al-Awsat.
Gaza has been descending into what aid workers call a “free-for-all.” Convoys entering from Egypt rarely reach their intended destinations, including communities such as Gaza’s Egyptian expats or its dwindling Christian population.
Most aid, whether delivered by truck or air-dropped, has been looted, according to residents and witnesses. Only a few manage to snatch small rations, often after clashing with looters armed with knives and guns.
Much of the stolen food appears almost instantly on Gaza’s black markets, sold at exorbitant prices far beyond what ordinary families can afford. With banks shuttered and liquidity scarce, many are forced to pay nearly 50% commission just to convert digital currency into cash.
“You need $100 to feed your family, but you walk away with $52,” said Ahmed al-Maghrabi, a Palestinian Authority employee from Gaza’s Sabra district.
“Thieves are running our lives, our food, our money, everything. This isn’t survival. This is slow death. Emigration is our only escape.”
According to al-Maghrabi, criminal gangs with apparent links to merchants are coordinating to intercept aid as it enters Gaza. “They get there before anyone else, as if they know where and when the shipments will land,” he said.
Air-dropped aid has provided no solution. In several cases, it has landed in Israeli-controlled zones or been seized in contested areas such as southern Khan Younis and eastern Gaza City. Even when aid falls near civilians, most of it is stolen and resold.
In some markets, a kilogram of sugar now sells for $130, down from $170 days earlier, but still unaffordable. Canned meat and ready-to-eat meals range between $44 and $60. Baby formula costs up to $69 per can, while a single diaper fetches $4.
On Monday, a Jordanian military plane dropped supplies over Gaza. The World Food Program said 55 trucks entered that day, but were seized by crowds before they reached their warehouses.
Beyond food, even baby items such as formula and diapers, critically needed by families and hospitals, are being looted and monetized.
For many in Gaza, the aid operation feels more like a performance than a lifeline.
“This is a charade,” said Nisreen al-Assi, a displaced woman from Beit Lahiya now sheltering in western Gaza. “Israel wants to appear as if it's easing the famine, but it’s managing the crisis, not solving it. It is letting gangs run wild while targeting those who try to guard the aid.”
Al-Assi said Israeli forces not only attack security escorts but also refuse to protect the convoys, instead forcing drivers to stop in open streets where the trucks are easily looted.
The government media office in Gaza said most aid trucks are systematically ransacked, and daily air-drops amount to less than half a single truckload. Some have landed in areas marked “red zones”, high-risk zones for military activity.
“This is a deliberate strategy,” the office said in a statement. “Israel is consciously engineering chaos and famine. It is preventing aid from reaching its storage points or intended recipients. What’s happening in Gaza is not random, it’s a calculated crime against a besieged civilian population.”
