Hamas executed six Palestinians in Gaza and shot 13 other legs by alleged looting, the group said in a statement. The case occurred amidst the Israeli humanitarian aid blockade, which is already advancing to the third month.
Disclosed on Friday (2), the Hamas statement said it would make more executions against “all the criminals we can achieve in the next two days.”
Since last week, armed gangs have increasingly taken on the streets of the city of Gaza, seeking some of the remaining food supplies and challenging Hamas’s control over the territory, according to journalists from CNN in Gaza.
Hamas states that some of these “criminal gangs” are collaborating with Israel. “An alert has been issued – those who ignore it take full responsibility,” the group said.
The executions – and the promise of Hamas that will follow most – are a clear reminder that the group, even weakened after more than 18 months of war, maintains power in Gaza.
Hunger crisis spreads through the territory
As food supplies began to scarce in the coastal territory, the Palestinians became more and more desperate to find what was left.
On Wednesday night (30), thousands of people broke into an installation of the UN and several warehouses in the city of Gaza in search of remains of meals, such as flour or canned food, according to a journalist who witnessed one of these cases.
Hamas claimed that some of the supposed looters were collaborating with Israel.
Already on Saturday (3), the Ministry of Interior and National Security of Hamas stated that “a group of processes of the law, employees of the occupation, emerged to threaten the lives of citizens, spreading fear and chaos in some neighborhoods and attacking public and private properties.”
Mass hunger scenes have become much more common as the population of over 2 million Gaza Palestinians approaches hunger. Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2, interrupting the supply of humanitarian aid, including food and medicines, to the besieged territory.
Dr. Ahmad Al-Farra, head of the Nasser Medical Complex Department of Pediatric in Gaza, warned over the weekend that “an impending sanitary catastrophe is threatening the lives of thousands.”
“We are facing the danger of a massive wave of malnutrition deaths if the current humanitarian crisis remains unresolved,” he told the CNN .
At the beginning of Saturday, Janan Saleh al-Sakkafi, two months old, died due to malnutrition at Al-Rantisi Hospital, Dr. Munir Al Barsh, General Director of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said, CNN .
The US State Department stated that humanitarian aid could be announced “in the coming days,” which would allow food and necessary drugs to reach the Palestinian population without being diverted by Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
“Safeguns are finally in force. Israel remains safe, Hamas with empty hands and residents of Gaza with access to essential help,” said a state department spokesman.
The spokesman described the project as an element of “creative thinking,” but did not provide details on how it would work in Gaza. An unidentified private foundation would manage the help mechanism and delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, the spokesman said.
Since taking power at Enclave in 2007, Hamas has executed dozens of suspects, including some accused of collaborating with Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues to press, with the Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, saying on Sunday that Israel’s defense forces (IDF) would issue “tens of thousands” of reservists next week to intensify their offensive at the enclave.
Khader al-Za’Ananoun, from Wafa, the Palestinian official news agency contributed to this report.
This content was originally published in war in Gaza: Hamas performs Palestinians who looted food on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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