Israeli attacks on Gaza police are blamed for breakdown in aid convoy security

ISRAELI military attacks on Palestinian police officers guarding aid trucks have led to a breakdown in law and order in the Gaza Strip, the UN has said.

The claim was made as Hamas said yesterday that seven more hostages seized on Oct 7 had died due to Israeli bombing in recent weeks.

The terror group did not give names or dates for the deaths. Hamas seized around 250 Israelis and foreigners during its attack; around 130 are still captive.

The severity of the security crisis in Gaza was highlighted on Thursday when crowds of desperate people swarmed a convoy of vehicles carrying bags of flour and Israeli troops opened fire, citing “threats” to its soldiers.

More than 110 people were killed and 750 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel has claimed “tens” of those were driven over by the trucks or crushed in a stampede.

The US pledged to begin air dropping aid to Gaza amid the precarious situation facing trucks. “In the coming days we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing air drops of additional food and supplies” and will “seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor,” Joe Biden said.

Previously, Palestinian police officers – known as the Blue Police because of their distinctive uniforms – would have guarded aid trucks making deliveries, but the force is no longer fully operational.

UN officials have accused Israeli strikes of targeting police guarding aid convoys, as well as police stations and cars. Officers have also not been paid in months due to the war.

That led the force to withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing and Gaza’s streets in early February.

David Satterfield, the US ambassador appointed by Mr Biden to coordinate humanitarian aid to Gaza, said recently: “With the departure of police escorts it has been virtually impossible for the UN or anyone else… to safely move assistance in Gaza because of criminal gangs.”

Mr Satterfield said Israeli forces had killed as many as nine Palestinian police officers involved in protecting aid convoys, including a commander.

The Blue Police is Hamas-run and composed of Hamas members but also politically unaffiliated people and the remnants of the Palestinian Authority force.

Israel considers it a legitimate target because it “is affiliated with Hamas, and therefore, tarnished with the same brush,” said Richard Pater, director of the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre.

But experts say the police force is more complicated and sits somewhere in-between. They also point to its necessity for providing security as the war nears its sixth month.

The few aid convoys that make it into the territory are now regularly subject to looting and chaos as people desperate for food try to grab whatever they can. The situation is particularly dire in northern Gaza, where Thursday’s incident took place.

Aid deliveries in Gaza have almost entirely halted given such logistic challenges, leaving many Palestinians desperate for basic necessities, such as food and water.