After the death of a teenager, angry Palestinians protested against the Islamist Hamas in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Eyewitnesses reported unrest in the border town of Rafah. Dozens of people were involved. The background was allegations that armed Hamas members had shot at a group of young men who wanted to take humanitarian aid supplies without permission in the border area with Egypt. A teenager was killed and other people were injured. A Hamas police station was reportedly set on fire during the protests.
Looting and chaotic scenes
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly catastrophic in view of the Israeli military offensive in the narrow coastal strip. There is looting and chaotic scenes during the distribution of relief supplies. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for an increase in humanitarian aid. Israel insists on controlling deliveries to prevent arms smuggling. At the same time, the government in Jerusalem emphasizes that the inspections do not hinder deliveries. Rather, the UN organizations would fail to distribute aid in the Gaza Strip. The UN, in turn, points out that under war conditions it is hardly possible to continue transporting and distributing goods.
There are also repeated eyewitness reports that armed Hamas members are taking control of aid deliveries. Israel assumes that these are also intended for terrorists hiding in the underground tunnel system.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7th. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, more than 20,000 people have been killed in the coastal area since then.
