Hamas-led force targets gangs looting Gaza aid convoys

Fighters from Hamas and other Gaza factions have formed an armed force to prevent gangs pillaging aid convoys in the territory, residents and sources close to the group said, after a big increase in the looting of scarce supplies.

Since being formed this month amid rising public anger at aid seizures and price gouging, the new force has staged repeated operations, ambushing looters and killing some in armed clashes, the sources said.

Hamas' efforts to take a lead in securing aid supplies point to the difficulties Israel will face in a post-war Gaza, with few obvious alternatives to a group it has been trying to destroy for over a year and which it claims can have no governing role.

Israel accuses Hamas of hijacking aid. The group denies that and accuses Israel of trying to foment anarchy in Gaza by targeting police guarding aid convoys.

A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on Hamas units fighting looters.

Amid the chaos of Israel's war, armed gangs have increasingly raided supply convoys, hijacking trucks and selling the looted stock in Gaza markets at exorbitant prices.

As well as driving anger at the Israeli military, the shortages had also prompted questions of Hamas for its seeming inability to stop the gangs.

"We are all against the bandits and looters so we can live and eat ... now you are obliged to buy from a thief," said Diyaa al-Nasara, speaking near a funeral for a Hamas fighter killed in clashes with looters.

The new anti-looting force, formed of well-equipped fighters from Hamas and allied groups, has been named "The Popular and Revolutionary Committees" and is ready to open fire on hijackers who do not surrender, one of the sources, a Hamas official, said.

The official, who declined to be named because Hamas would not authorise him to speak about it, said the group operated across central and southern Gaza and had carried out at least 15 missions so far, including killing some armed gangsters.

Widespread hunger

Thirteen months into Israel's devastating war in Gaza, launched in response to the deadly Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, major shortages of food, medicine and other goods are causing widespread hunger and suffering among civilians.

Israel put commercial goods imports on hold last month and only aid trucks have entered Gaza since then, carrying a fraction of what relief groups have said is needed for a territory where most people have lost their homes and have little money.

"It's getting harder and harder to get the aid in," said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris after a series of looting incidents over the weekend.

Before the war, a sack of flour sold for $10 (€9.50) or $15 (€14) and a kilogram of milk powder for 30 shekels (€8). Now the flour costs $100 (€95) and the milk powder 300 shekels (€76), traders said.

Some people in Gaza have said they want Hamas to target looters.

"There is a campaign against thieves, we see that. If the campaign continues and aid flows, the prices will go down because the stolen aid appears in the markets at high cost," said Shaban, a displaced Gaza city engineer, now living in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.

After nearly 100 trucks were looted last week Hamas attacked an armed group gathering near a crossing where aid trucks usually enter, opened heavy fire, killing at least 20 of them, according to residents and the Hamas Aqsa television.

Witnesses described another firefight on Saturday when Hamas fighters in two cars chased men suspected of looting who were in another vehicle, resulting in the death of the suspects.

The Hamas official said the force showed that the group's governance in Gaza continued.

"Hamas as a movement exists, whether someone likes it or not. Hamas as a government exists too, not as strong as it used to be, but it exists and its personnel are trying to serve the people everywhere in the areas of displacement," he said.

US imposes sanctions on senior Hamas officials

The US has imposed sanctions on six senior Hamas officials, the US Treasury Department said, in further action against the group as Washington has sought to achieve a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.

The Treasury Department said in a statement the sanctions targeted the group's representatives abroad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing and those involved in supporting fundraising efforts for the group and weapons smuggling into Gaza.

"Hamas continues to rely on key officials who seemingly maintain legitimate, public-facing roles within the group, yet who facilitate their terrorist activities, represent their interests abroad, and coordinate the transfer of money and goods into Gaza," Treasury's Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, claimed.

Among those targeted was Abd al-Rahman Ismail abd al-Rahman Ghanimat, a longtime member of Hamas's military wing who is now based in Turkey.

The US Treasury accused him of being involved in multiple attempted and successful terrorist attacks.

Two other officials based in Turkey, another member based in Gaza and a leader authorised to speak publicly on behalf of the group were also among those targeted, according to the Treasury.

The US yesterday warned Turkey against hosting Hamas leaders, saying the US does not believe the leaders of what it calls a terrorist organisation should live comfortably.

Asked about reports that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey from Qatar, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller did not confirm the reports but said he was not in a position to dispute them.

He added that the US will make clear to Turkey that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 43,500 people in Gaza have been killed by Israel over the past year, Palestinian health officials have reported.