THE World Food Programme (WFP) says its first attempt in two weeks to bring food aid to northern Gaza was blocked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The UN agency says the convoy of 14 lorries was “turned back” at a checkpoint and was later looted by crowds of “desperate people”.
It comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) said children are dying of starvation in northern Gaza.
In a statement, the WFP said efforts to “deliver desperately needed food supplies” to the area resumed on Tuesday “but were largely unsuccessful”.
The agency says the convoy was turned back by the IDF after a three-hour wait at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.
The trucks were then rerouted and “later stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who looted the food, taking around 200 tons from the trucks”, the WFP said.
The BBC contacted the IDF for comment, which directed any questions towards Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body tasked with co-ordinating aid access in Gaza.
It was the WFP’s first attempt to deliver supplies to northern Gaza in a fortnight.
On 20 February, the agency said it was suspending food deliveries to the area because its recent convoys had endured “complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order”, including violent looting.
Last Thursday, more than 100 Palestinians were killed as crowds rushed to reach an aid convoy, operated by private contractors, that was being escorted by Israeli forces west of Gaza City.
Palestinian health officials said dozens were killed when Israeli forces opened fire. Israel’s military said most died from either being trampled or run over by the aid lorries. It said soldiers near the convoy had fired towards people who approached them and who they considered a threat.
