UN: Around 88% of aid trucks collected in Gaza since mid-May did not reach destinations due to looting or theft

The United Nations Office for Project Services has published data showing that since the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza on May 19 and up until August 5, a total of 2,604 aid trucks were collected by the UN after entering the Strip. Of those, 2,309 did not reach their intended destinations inside the enclave.
According to the organization, this was due to the trucks being “intercepted either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors during transit in Gaza.” This accounts for 88% of all trucks.
In recent months, the percentages were even higher. According to UNOPS, in June, 1,155 trucks were collected by the UN and its partner organizations, and 1,048 of them — 90.7% — were intercepted before reaching their destinations. In July, the figure rose to 94%, with 1,161 trucks collected and 1,093 intercepted.
Olga Cherevko from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs clarifies to The Times of Israel that the vast majority of looting is being carried out by hungry Gazans, not by armed gangs.
“The long-standing restrictions on the entry of aid have created an unpredictable environment where there is a lack of confidence by the communities that aid will reach them,” she says.
“This has resulted in many of our convoys offloaded directly by starving, desperate people as they continue to face deep levels of hunger and are struggling to feed their families,” the UN staffer continues.
“As we have said before, the only way to reach a level of confidence is by having a sustained flow of aid over a period of time. This was clearly evident during the weeks of the last ceasefire when such incidents did not occur,” she adds.
The Times of Israel Community.







