Without law and order, Gaza will be an uphill struggle for aid agencies

Humanitarian aid lorries entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect on Sunday. AP

Regardless of how the precarious plan for a phased ceasefire in Gaza proceeds, one inarguable fact will remain: Palestinians there need humanitarian help and they need it now. Earlier this month, UNRWA – the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees – said that in December, 70 per cent of 190 planned missions to get aid into Gaza were denied permission by the Israeli authorities. This was highest denial rate in the preceding six months.

A combined lack of food, fuel, medicine, shelter and winter clothing is costing civilian lives, with children and the elderly being the most vulnerable. Babies have been needlessly freezing to death. If aid organisations cannot get supplies to those who need them, more deaths will occur even if Israeli air strikes and ground raids are suspended. However, there is another threat to aid operations – the dangerous breakdown of law and order.

Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas explained

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In an interview with The National published on Saturday, Unicef communication specialist Rosalia Bollen – who confirmed that 1,300 lorries with aid were ready to enter Gaza once the ceasefire began – said the possibility of looting was a “deep, deep concern” for her agency and other humanitarian organisations. “Gaza doesn't have an operating environment that allows us to bring in supplies safely,” Ms Bollen said, adding that looting and the reduction of aid to a trickle had caused prices to surge.

Desperation creates horrific circumstances. Looting and the breakdown of order has occurred with the incessant targeting of all authority in the country. On December 2, UNRWA said it would suspend aid delivery through the Karam Abu Salem border crossing after another seizure and looting of lorries by gunmen. As Ms Bollen points out, such looting contributes to further scarcity, thereby creating a vicious cycle.

Such criminality has been allowed to flourish in part because of Israeli forces’ repeated and deliberate targeting of Gaza’s civil and security structures. Paramedics, civil defence workers, journalists and members of Gaza’s Hamas-run law enforcement have been killed as the 15-month war dragged on. Israeli troops have also killed aid workers; in November, the World Central Kitchen charity was again forced to pause operations in Gaza after its staff came under Israeli fire for the second time in a year.

At this moment, the two forces with the capacity to enforce some kind of stability are the Israeli military and Palestinian authorities of various backgrounds

It is not surprising that this state of near-anarchy would enable criminal gangs to take advantage of the chaos to enrich themselves at the people’s expense. Given this, a key priority for Gaza should be the restoration of law and order. Countries and aid workers are ready to help – the UAE’s largest relief initiative is entering its biggest phase, with the aim of helping 9,500 displaced people living in shelters and temporary tents. But without a minimum level of security, it will be even more difficult for aid to reach the people it needs to.

There are no easy answers. At this moment, the two forces with the capacity to enforce some kind of stability are the Israeli military and Palestinian authorities of various backgrounds. This may appear to be an unpromising situation, but it is in Israel’s longer-term security interests to avoid a chaotic humanitarian disaster just across its border. Gaza needs credible authorities to use any lull in the fighting to crack down on rogue gunmen and ensure the safety of aid convoys.

The key concern here should be for Gaza’s civilians – without aid, more will die or be left with life-changing illnesses. For that to happen after the guns have fallen silent would not only be unnecessary, it would be unforgivable.