Hamas executes several looters who reportedly attacked food warehouses
‘We will strike with an iron fist all these renegades,’ says terror group, accusing Israel of collaborating with armed gangs to undermine its control over food supplies
CAIRO — Hamas executed a number of alleged looters after several incidents in which heavily armed gangs attacked food stores and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip this week, sources close to the Palestinian terror group said over the weekend.
Hamas officials have accused some of the looters of working in collaboration with Israel, which has sealed off aid from entering Gaza for the past two months, arguing that much of it was being stolen by Hamas. Israel has not commented on the allegation.
In one incident, the Hamas-run interior ministry said a police officer was killed and others were wounded when an Israeli drone fired a missile at a police unit chasing criminals in Gaza City.
“We will strike with an iron fist all these renegades, and we will take the necessary measures to deter them, no matter the cost, and we will not allow them to continue terrorizing citizens, threatening their lives and stealing their property,” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the alleged looters.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office, said some of the looters acted under a clan umbrella and others acted as organized groups, some of which he said received direct support from Israel.
He said a number of “revolutionary execution rulings” had been carried out against “several top criminals” proven to have been involved in looting.
Some Gaza residents and Palestinian media said Hamas’s armed wing imposed curfews starting at 9 p.m. to restrict the movement of civilians and to chase alleged looters.
Gangs take money, phones
“Those gangs, some of them armed, have terrorized people, not only stealing food, but stopping some people on the roads and taking away their money and phones,” said Ahmed, from Gaza City, who asked that his full name not be used.
“They aid the occupation in starving us; they must be dealt with as collaborators,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
SAFA news agency, close to Hamas, said the interior ministry has formed a new 5,000-member force tasked with confronting looters and armed gangs. However, local police forces have been hampered by attacks from Israeli drones against any armed Palestinians they identify.
Hamas deployed thousands of police and security forces across Gaza after a ceasefire took effect in January, but its armed presence shrank sharply since Israel resumed large-scale attacks in March.
Since the beginning of March, Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports, leading to what is believed to be the most severe shortage of food, medicine and other supplies in nearly 19 months of war with Hamas. Israel says the goal of its blockade is to pressure Hamas to free the remaining hostages of the 251 taken during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people and started the war.
Israel says it must take control of aid distribution, arguing that Hamas and other terrorists siphon off supplies. Aid workers deny there is a significant diversion of aid to terrorist groups, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution.
The Times of Israel reported last week that the IDF has recently recommended that the Israeli government approve the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, regardless of a hostage deal with the Hamas terror group, in a bid to avoid starvation among the Palestinian civilian population, according to military officials who briefed reporters.
The IDF made it clear to the political echelon that resuming the entry of aid will soon be necessary to avoid violations of international law and future legal problems for commanders taking part in the military operation.
Over 2,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed hostilities there on March 18, out of more than 52,400 killed since the war there was sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
The figures cannot be independently verified, and do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January, and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the Hamas onslaught.
The Hamas-led attack saw thousands of terrorists storm southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages. Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza, including the body of a soldier killed fighting in the 2014 war there.
The Times of Israel Community.