IDF kills armed gunmen attempting to hijack humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza over weekend

Hamas accused of stealing humanitarian aid and selling it for profit

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The IDF announced on Saturday that troops from the Tzabar Battalion, part of the Givati Brigade, identified armed militants attempting to rob a humanitarian aid truck in southern Gaza.

In a video released by the IDF, armed gunmen can be seen surrounding one of the cargo trucks and climbing on top of the vehicle.

The soldiers used armed drones to strike a vehicle carrying several armed gunmen, killing them. Two others who fled on foot were also targeted and eliminated shortly after.

The Tzabar Battalion soldiers were conducting operations to help secure humanitarian aid convoys, which have been repeatedly targeted by the Hamas terror organization throughout the war.

Images from social media accounts in Gaza have shown UN humanitarian aid being sold in markets within the Gaza Strip. The aid is checked and delivered to Gaza with cooperation from the IDF. Many times, the label on the packages reads: “Not for sale.”

Humanitarian aid being sold in Rafah, Gaza.

Israel sends aid, Hamas steals it and then sells it to people.

Free Gaza from Hamas. pic.twitter.com/RjcZB0MUq1
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) March 19, 2024

Analysts have stated that Hamas uses the sales of confiscated aid to raise funds during the war.

While the United Nations has admitted the seizure of some humanitarian aid in the past, it refuses to blame Hamas for confiscating the aid and, instead, has often blamed Israel for the unsafe conditions in the Gaza Strip.

In June, the UN, along with several other international aid organizations, said that rampant lawlessness in southern Gaza, where groups of armed men regularly blocked aid convoys and stopped drivers at gunpoint, had rendered aid distribution unsafe in the area.

Several international aid organizations, including the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), suspended its operations in Gaza due to unsafe conditions. The UN blamed the IDF for targeting their convoy as part of the reason, however, the IDF later announced that it had fired on some vehicles in the convoy after armed gunmen took control of them.

Earlier this month, the IDF declined to actively take part in humanitarian aid distribution across the Strip. However, the IDF did announce the creation of a new position within COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) to serve as a liaison for humanitarian activities in the coastal enclave.

Israel has repeatedly raised concerns about Hamas terrorists infiltrating humanitarian aid convoys throughout the war. In early September, after the UN accused the IDF of delaying an aid convoy for eight hours, the IDF reported finding two Hamas militants hiding inside.