Hamas-run interior ministry says it carried out security operation after armed looters hijacked almost 100 trucks
How desperate are the hungry – Mark
Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry has said that at least 20 people have been killed in an operation targeting “gangs” accused of looting trucks bringing aid into the war-torn territory which is facing the threat of famine.
Gunmen attacked and looted about 100 trucks carrying desperately needed supplies over the weekend, the biggest such attack during 13 months of war in the territory and new evidence of the growing power of Gaza’s criminal gangs.
In a statement late on Monday, the Gaza interior ministry said that more than 20 people had been killed “in a security operation carried out by security forces in cooperation with tribal committees”.
The statement said that thefts had “severely affected society and led to signs of famine in southern Gaza”, and warned that the operation was the start of a broader campaign to tackle the problem.
An interior ministry source told AFP the 20 were killed in connection with the looting on Saturday of a convoy which was transporting thousands of tonnes of food provided by the UN agencies Unrwa and the World Food Programme (WFP). It was attacked shortly after entering Gaza on Saturday, UN officials and local community leaders said.
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