UN: "Thousands of Gaza Residents Break into Relief Warehouse... Order Collapses"

As the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas intensifies, thousands of Gaza Strip residents are storming relief warehouses, causing severe chaos.

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) issued a statement on the 29th, saying, "Thousands of residents are breaking into UNRWA relief warehouses and distribution centers located in the central and southern regions of the Gaza Strip to take essential supplies."

Thomas White, UNRWA Director, said, "This is a worrying sign that civil order is beginning to collapse after three weeks of war and the siege on the Gaza Strip," adding, "Market goods are running out, and humanitarian aid coming from Egypt is insufficient. The community's needs are great for basic survival, but the support Gaza receives is meager."

According to UNRWA, about 80 trucks carrying relief supplies passed through the Gaza Strip over the course of about a week, but on the previous day (the 28th), no relief trucks entered due to communication outages caused by the expansion of Israeli ground operations. UNRWA, which manages relief supplies within the Gaza Strip, was also unable to communicate with several officials due to the communication blackout.

Director White emphasized, "A small number of trucks, slow processes, strict inspections, and aid supplies that do not meet the requirements of relief organizations like UNRWA are causing system failures," stressing, "The Gaza Strip needs regular and steady humanitarian aid."

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