In southern Gaza armed gangs have made aid delivery nearly impossible – a crisis thats getting worse as winter comes. These well-organized groups (working near Israeli military posts) steal most supplies coming through the Kerem Shalom crossing
Yasser Abu Shabab leads the most active gang with about 100 men; they use road-blocks and guns to stop trucks. His group has hurt many drivers and stolen millions in aid since last spring. “We dont have any choice“ Abu Shabab claims while denying violence against drivers
The gangs started as small-time cigarette smugglers but now run a big black-market: one pack costs $1‚000 these days. Theyʼve set-up bases in areas where Israeli forces are present – making the main aid route super-dangerous
Hereʼs what aid trucks face daily:
* Armed attacks less than 2 miles from crossing
* Drivers getting beaten or killed
* Entire trucks being taken to hidden warehouses
* Goods being sold at crazy-high prices
The Israeli military says its “doing targeted actions“ against looters; but aid workers see something different. Last week thugs took stuff from 98 trucks while soldiers watched nearby‚ and requests for safer routes keep getting denied
The situation got real bad after police stopped protecting convoys early this year. Now these gangs work freely in Israeli-controlled zones making it hard to feed 2 million hungry people. Its gotten so bad that half the food aid gets stolen on its way to those who need it most