Israel has halted aid deliveries to Gaza for two days to prevent them from being seized by Hamas, an official said on Thursday, after images emerged of masked men on aid trucks. Tribal leaders said the men were not fighters but were providing protection for the convoys, "Reuters" reported, quoted by News.bg.
In a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday night that he had ordered the military to draw up a plan within two days to protect the aid from possible Hamas control.
The decision came after Netanyahu and Katz cited new intelligence indicating that Hamas had been diverting aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. Although details were not released, a video released Wednesday showed dozens of masked men - some with guns, others with clubs - on board trucks carrying humanitarian aid.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Reuters that the deliveries had been temporarily suspended to allow time for a new protection strategy to be developed.
There was no immediate comment from the prime minister's office, the defense ministry or the military.
According to the Higher Committee for Tribal Affairs, which represents the influential clans in Gaza, the trucks were escorted on their own initiative for protection. The committee has strongly denied involvement by Palestinian factions, including Hamas.
Hamas, the Islamist group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of it after a nearly two-year war with Israel, also denied involvement.
During the conflict, numerous clans, civil society organizations and political factions - including the Palestinian Authority - have been involved in the attacks. including Hamas's secular rival, Fatah - have joined in protecting aid convoys. In Gaza, clans, built on extended family ties, play a key role in the social order.
Amjad al-Shawa, director of a Palestinian NGO association, said protected aid was being distributed to the most vulnerable families.
Gaza has been facing acute shortages of food and other basic goods since the war, which has displaced most of its two million residents. Aid trucks and warehouses have often been looted by desperate Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid to its own fighters or selling it to finance operations - charges that Hamas denies.
“The clans intervened to thwart the attempts of aggressors and thieves to take away the food that belongs to our people,“ said Abu Salman Al-Moghani, a representative of the Gaza clans.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is under pressure from his right-wing coalition. Some of its hardliners are threatening to quit, unhappy with the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and the continuation of humanitarian aid deliveries.