A person involved in aid distribution said armed criminal gangs operate almost completely freely along the Israel-Gaza border through which trucks must pass, attacking trucks on a daily basis. The person said the attacks were organized and coordinated, not spontaneous looting by desperate Gaza civilians that plagued aid convoys in the early months of the war.
Armed assailants fire on trucks, forcing them to stop and sometimes hitting drivers before taking their belongings from the trucks, officials said.
And there's no one to call for help. The Hamas-run police force that helped secure the passage of aid early in the war was disbanded several months ago after Israel killed several officers. (The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were bound by a non-disclosure agreement.)
Haq said roads around the intersection have become extremely dangerous because there is “no police or rule of law in the area.”
The number of international aid trucks reaching Palestinians in southern Gaza has plummeted since Israel launched its attack on Rafah on May 7. Only a small amount of aid has come through Kerem Shalom, aid workers say, including 30 trucks sent through Jordan on Monday. Even the 1,100 truck loads stuck at the checkpoint amount to what would have entered Gaza in just over two days before the war and is a fraction of what aid groups say is needed to stave off starvation in Gaza.
Another border crossing, at Rafah on the Egyptian-Gaza border, has remained closed since the start of the Israeli operation.
To make up for the shortfall, Israeli authorities have begun allowing the import of commercial goods from Israel and the occupied West Bank into Gaza. Unlike UN convoys, these trucks often travel with armed escorts and can traverse dangerous terrain.
Israel suspended commercial traffic for about two weeks to allow aid trucks to get through, according to a U.S. official involved in the aid effort. But the insecurity meant no aid could get on the road, so Israel resumed commercial truck traffic on Sunday, with 20 of them entering the Gaza Strip, the official said.
The U.S. and Western aid officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Said Abu al-Ouf, a Gaza businessman who has shipped three truckloads of rice to the Gaza Strip since mid-May, said he has suspended shipments because of the militant groups, and that in the past he has paid thousands of dollars in security fees to Gaza groups to ensure the safety of his trucks.