The spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office for the Arab world, Ofir Gendelman, along with other accounts and pages, posted a video claiming to document an attempt by Hamas members to steal flour from citizens in Gaza and transport it to the movement's headquarters.
Upon investigation, Misbar found that the individuals shown in the video are civilians from Gaza who, driven by hunger and food shortages, raided a UNRWA warehouse in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and other warehouses in the central part of the Gaza Strip to obtain some food supplies. The video does not depict members of Hamas armed with weapons attempting to steal flour from citizens.
Witnesses Talked to Misbar Regarding the Raid on UNRWA's Store
Misbar’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip inspected the UNRWA storage facility at Gaza Training College and Khan Yunis Training and conducted interviews with several displaced individuals. They confirmed that the intruders of the storage facility were civilians, and they took bags of flour, oil, and rice.
They also mentioned that government-affiliated individuals later pursued them and attempted to prevent them from taking the supplies.
UNRWA Warns of the Collapse of the Civil System in Gaza Due to the Worsening Food Crisis
A report published by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on October 29, stated that thousands of people had broken into multiple UNRWA warehouses and distribution centers in the central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, taking wheat flour and other essential supplies like hygiene products.
Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, described this as a worrying sign that the civil system is starting to collapse after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza. He added, "People are fearful, frustrated, and desperate, and tensions and fears are escalating due to the disruption of phone and internet communications. They feel isolated from their families inside Gaza and the rest of the world."
White further stated, "Supplies in the markets are running out while the humanitarian aid coming to the Gaza Strip on trucks from Egypt is insufficient, and the needs of the communities are immense, even just for survival, while the assistance we receive is meager and uncoordinated.”
In addition to UNRWA's confirmations, television footage within a news report showed displaced individuals and several residents of the Gaza Strip breaking into one of the warehouses of the international agency in central Gaza in search of food.
The World Food Program (WFP) Raises Alarm
The circulation of these claims comes in parallel with a warning from the World Food Program (WFP) about a food shortage in Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli war on the territory.
The U.N. program said that "there is not enough food in Gaza," and added that trucks carrying 100 tons of food are currently heading to the Rafah crossing in Egypt, calling for the safe entry of aid into Gaza to ensure food reaches the families.
Continuation of Aggression on Gaza
The total number of civilians who have reached hospitals in the Gaza strip as of the time of writing this article is 8,720, while more than 22,000 others have been injured in various ways, according to the latest data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the territory.
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