Aid group denies delivering drugs to Gaza

Hamas authorities say aid contained opioid pills - which US suppliers deny

Palestinians carry aid packages near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution centre in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. AP

A US aid group has denied claims that Gazans have found drugs in donated bags of flour.

Opioid pills have been discovered four times in recent days, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza. It said the flour sacks were distributed by the private US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose aid deliveries have been marred by violence.

The drug in question is claimed to be oxycodone, a strong painkiller similar to morphine. "We strongly condemn these acts, which are clearly aimed at further dismantling Palestinian society and plunging it into the mire of addiction, social problems, and collapse,” media office director Ismail Al Thawabta told The National.

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The foundation denied what it said were fabricated reports. It said bags of flour delivered to Gaza were commercially produced and not packaged by GHF staff.

Israel, which heavily restricts entry to Gaza for aid lorries, says the GHF is a way to bring in supplies without Hamas getting hold of them. However, officials in Gaza say hundreds of people have been killed in chaotic scenes while attempting to collect food from the foundation.

Gaza resident Mundhir Ubaid said his wife discovered three strange pills inside a bag of flour he brought back from a US aid centre. "The moment I held them, I felt something was wrong," Mr Ubaid, 32, told The National.

"I didn’t know exactly what they were, but I took them to the nearest security checkpoint,” said Mr Ubaid, who has four children and lives at Al Bureij refugee camp. “An anti-narcotics officer immediately recognised them and said they were among the most dangerous drugs.”

He said authorities asked him to bring all the flour bags he had collected, and he found two similar pills in another sack. “The occupation is trying to destroy our social fabric and eliminate us in this horrific way,” he said.

Mr Al Thawabta said authorities had verified the presence of narcotic pills inside some of the flour bags. He called it "a heinous crime targeting the health of civilians and the fabric of Palestinian society.”

“We call on citizens to remain vigilant and inspect aid packages, and to immediately report any suspicious substances found in what we now call the ‘American death traps'," he said.

Israeli attacks on hospitals have contributed to a collapse of medical care in Gaza. AFP

Approached by The National, a GHF representative said the reports were "fake news and absurd". In a separate online post, the foundation dismissed the claims as a "Hamas-backed social media campaign".

"The flour we distribute is commercially packaged and not produced or handled by GHF staff. We have safety protocols that include any box of aid that has been opened prior to distribution can’t be given out," it said. "Any aid that looks tampered with doesn’t get distributed."

Doctors in Gaza are alarmed by the claims. Hossam Hamouda, a Palestinian physician in Gaza, said the presence of Oxycodone poses a grave risk to public health. He warned that unsupervised consumption could lead to respiratory failure, unconsciousness, hallucinations, and, if taken in large quantities, death.

The drug is typically prescribed for severe pain after an operation or a serious condition such as cancer, but is also abused as an illegal narcotic. “This is a moral crime committed against a starving population,” Dr Hamouda said.

A shortage of medical supplies in Gaza has compounded civilian woes during the war. The World Health Organisation said last week it had delivered a first batch since early March, including reserves of blood and plasma.

Separately, a few dozen aid lorries entered northern Gaza last week and “Hamas had no role in the security arrangements”, said Mukhtar Salman Al Mughani, a senior tribal leader and member of the Higher Committee for Tribal Affairs, told The National. Israel was quick to accuse Hamas of stealing goods though and aid distribution was blocked except for the GHF.