Gaza Strip: “There has been no attack or looting on convoys with humanitarian aid since the start of the truce”

The ceasefire in between Israel and Hamas came into effect since Sunday morning (19.01.2025) and since then there has been no attack or looting on convoys with , said the UN today (21.01.20205). In particular, UN humanitarian affairs agency spokesman Jens Lerke stressed that “so far, in the first two days, there is no mention of looting or assaulting either humanitarian workers or convoys with humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.” CORVERSE He then added that he hopes that this situation will continue in the future. In November, the UN denounced the “systemic” looting of aid during the fierce war that launched Israel against the Palestinian Islamist organisation Hamas. CORVERSE After the ceasefire, hundreds of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip, where only a few vehicles were able to get permission from Israelis every day. The approximately 2 million people under siege in Gaza since October 7 depend almost entirely on humanitarian aid, with 15 months of bombing and conflict having destroyed most of the infrastructure. Only yesterday, Monday (20.01.2025), over 900 humanitarian aid trucks entered the enclave, about 300 more than the number set out in the ceasefire agreement, put into effect the day before yesterday, Sunday. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Since the first day of the truce, the UN had announced the entry of 630 trucks, of which 300 were intended for the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which has been particularly severely affected by continued bombings. Until now, the UN has regularly denounced Israel’s obstacles to the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. With regard to security, “we are working with Israelis and other guarantors of the aid deal and working with local authorities and communities themselves within the Gaza Strip, ” explained Lerke. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem On Saturday, UN chief Antonio Guterres, had admitted that the distribution of aid to the Gaza Strip would be ‘complex’ due to the lack of security. Prior to the ceasefire, “everything entering Gaza had a particularly high value, which motivated” to loot aid, Lerke explained. “That’s why we were saying that we had to flood the enclave with help, ” he added. The priorities are clear: to enter food, to open up the bakeries, to provide medical care, to resupply hospitals, to restore water networks and shelters, to reunite families, he said. REUTERS/Shokry Hussein “I do not have accurate data on the distribution of aid,” he said, explaining that aid has arrived and that much of it is in storage. Movements in the enclave are difficult, mainly in the northern part due to the ruins but the unexploded ammunition that make movements complicated and dangerous. “ One must also keep in mind that there are many population movements, ” Lerke said. “I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of people returning to their homes” and it’s “somewhat taken to say they’re coming home as most of the time, mostly in the north, they find mountains of ruins.”