The Gaza Government Media Office urged the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Monday to reverse its decision to suspend aid shipments to the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
The UN agency announced Sunday that it was halting humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza via the Israeli-controlled crossing, citing security concerns.
"We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza. The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months," said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini in a statement.
He highlighted an alarming incident in which a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs on Nov. 16, adding that "on Saturday, we tried to bring in a few food trucks on the same route. They were all taken."
The Gaza government accused Israel of coordinating with armed gangs to steal aid shipments, effectively preventing critical supplies from reaching those in need.
In a statement, the Gaza media office said that Israeli forces were complicit in allowing the looting to continue unchecked, suggesting a deliberate effort to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.
Further corroboration came from Israel's Haaretz daily, which reported that armed groups in Gaza were allowed to steal aid shipments while Israeli forces turned a blind eye. According to unnamed sources within international relief organizations, Israeli forces not only facilitated these thefts but in some cases seized control of the goods, storing them in military warehouses.
The Gaza government called on UNRWA to enhance aid deliveries to the blockaded territory, emphasizing the worsening humanitarian conditions, particularly acute food shortages. It urged the agency to explore alternate, safer routes for delivering supplies.
The ongoing blockade has intensified the hunger crisis in Gaza, with northern regions particularly affected. The territory, often described as the world's largest open-air prison, has suffered immensely under Israel's 18-year blockade, which impacts nearly 2.3 million Palestinians.
Gaza's authorities accuse Israel alongside the US and European nations such as the UK, Germany and France of complicity in war crimes by providing military and logistical support to Israel.
Since launching its genocidal war on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, Israel has killed over 44,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 105,000, according to official figures.
The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn widespread international condemnation, noting that starvation tactics and blocking humanitarian aid deliveries amount to deliberate attempts to destroy an entire population.
On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its actions in Gaza, which have drawn mounting international condemnation.
