Gaza faces catastrophic hunger as looting spreads amid total Israeli blockade

Community kitchens have been badly hit by raids, with tonnes of food supplies taken from warehouses

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For 65 consecutive days, no food, water or medicine has been allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip due to Israel’s complete closure of all border crossings. The tiny coastal enclave – home to more than two million people – is enduring what many international and humanitarian agencies describe as the worst starvation campaign in modern history.

As hunger intensifies, desperation has triggered a wave of looting incidents hitting aid warehouses and food distribution centres across the strip.

“The incident of looting at the UNRWA Gaza Training Centre (GTC) and Gaza Field Office (GFO) is yet another stark indicator of the desperation felt by people in Gaza,” Inas Hamdan, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, told The National. “For two full months, Israeli authorities have blocked the entry of all supplies – both commercial and humanitarian – while military operations resumed. The despair has reached a critical breaking point,” she added.

According to a report released on Wednesday by NGO Mercy Corps, no aid or commercial supplies are reaching the strip. Food stocks are nearly exhausted and prices have soared by over 500 per cent since October 2023, fuelling a surge in malnutrition. “At least 60,000 children need treatment for acute malnutrition, and around 16,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are in urgent need of care,” the report noted.

Across Gaza, families are facing unimaginable hardship as the hunger crisis tightens its grip, compounded by continuing displacement, a collapsed healthcare system and relentless violence.

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Reuters

While the looting is devastating, Ms Hamdan said it is not unexpected. “We are witnessing the natural consequences of a society subjected to prolonged siege and unrelenting violence,” she explained. “This is not an isolated incident; it is a direct result of prolonged deprivation.”

UNRWA and its partners have renewed their urgent call for the immediate restoration of safe and sustained humanitarian access to Gaza.

Law enforcement inside Gaza has all but collapsed under the strain of continued attacks and dwindling resources. A police officer told The National, “We are witnessing organised thefts and are doing our best to stop them with the very limited capacity we have. But unfortunately, the occupation systematically targets our police personnel, leaving thieves free to loot aid without consequence.”

“These thefts are not random,” he continued. “They are carried out by organised groups. We try to secure aid distribution centres, but our forces are constantly targeted. Only a small number of undercover officers remain, and they are simply unable to control the massive crowds rushing warehouses and distribution points,” the officer said.

Palestinians in Gaza city queue for a hot meal cooked by a charity kitchen. Such organisations have been hit by organised looting. AFP

The collapse of security has had a crippling impact on the efforts of local charities that had become lifelines for thousands of Palestinians. Mohammed Al Asli, 27, a resident of northern Gaza, witnessed one such incident.

“What’s happening isn’t just theft – it’s sabotage,” he told The National. “Last night, a large warehouse near Al Jalaa Street in Gaza city was broken into. When the looters found no food, they stole office equipment, solar panels, computers – anything of value. This wasn’t driven by hunger; it was destruction for the sake of destruction.” Mr Asil thinks the looting is a “direct result of the security vacuum”.

Thieves are exploiting the lawlessness and attacking the lifelines of the poor, he said. “Most of them are not in need. Those who are truly hungry don’t behave this way – these are planned, deliberate acts of theft.”

Among the hardest-hit are community kitchens, which had served as a crucial source of sustenance for thousands of displaced and impoverished residents. Mohammed Abu Arjeela, founder of Gaza Youth Kitchens, said their operations have been completely halted following the looting of their supply warehouses.

“For over a year, we’ve operated kitchens and community soup kitchens, distributing tens of thousands of meals daily,” Mr Abu Arjeela told The National. “Because we understood the volatility of the market and border closures, we had stockpiled enough supplies to run for three to four months. Everything was stored in our private warehouses.”

The warehouses were looted, he said. “Our operations came to a standstill. We now have nothing left to cook or distribute”. One of those warehouses raided in north-west Gaza contained tonnes of food, he said, but it is all gone now. “Thousands who depended on us are left without any source of food. The loss is even more devastating amid the famine sweeping through Gaza.”

Mr Abu Arjeela added that the kitchens had relied on support from both local and international organisations. But with most warehouses now empty or destroyed – and with no goods allowed through the borders – external support has dried up.

As Gaza’s humanitarian infrastructure collapses and hunger escalates, the absence of both security and aid has left the most vulnerable, including children, the elderly and the sick, at even greater risk. Residents and humanitarian groups continue to appeal to the international community for immediate, safe and sustained humanitarian access before the crisis spirals further out of control.