People claiming to be affiliated with Hamas have reportedly looted a UN agency in Gaza, seizing fuel and medical supplies.
In tweets that were later deleted, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said it had seen reports that people with trucks removed supplies from its compound in Gaza City.
The agency said its staff were forced to evacuate its headquarters in Gaza City, in the northern part of the Strip, on a few hours’ notice on Friday night.
“Since then, UNRWA has had no access to the compound and no additional details about the removal of the assets,” the organisation said in a now-deleted tweet.
The agency said it had seen reports on social media that its compound had been looted by a group “purporting to be from the ministry of health of the de facto authorities in Gaza”.
It noted security cameras covering the compound’s entrance and exit were damaged in recent days due to the conflict and had not been working.
“UNRWA fuel and other types of material are kept for strictly humanitarian purposes – any other use is strongly condemned,” the agency added.
It deleted the tweets a short time later. A spokeswoman for UNRWA told The Telegraph the message had been deleted until the agency was able to verify the reports.
Fears aid could be used against Israel
A later statement from the agency said the reports were false, and that no looting had taken place “in any of its warehouses in the Gaza Strip”.
“The images circulating on social media were of a movement of basic medical supplies from the UNRWA warehouse to health partners,” the agency said.
The Telegraph has been unable to independently verify the reports of looting at UNRWA’s compound.
However, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated on social media: “Hamas stole fuel and medical equipment from UNRWA in Gaza.
“The amount of fuel stolen is enough to power Gaza’s water desalination facilities for six days.
“Hamas does not care about the people of Gaza.”
The allegations come amid a debate over the continuation of humanitarian aid shipments to the Gaza Strip.
There are widening fears that aid could be seized by Hamas terrorists and used in their battle against Israel.
But Western governments and international aid groups have also warned that Israel risks a humanitarian crisis if civilians living in Gaza are ignored in its retaliations against the terrorist group.
Criticising Hamas can also be dangerous for individuals and organisations operating within the Gaza Strip.
The agency said on Sunday that it was no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance, warning Gaza’s roughly two million residents were running out of food, water and medicine. Israel has imposed a total siege of the 23-mile strip of land since the start of last week, cutting off water and energy following the unprecedented attack by Hamas terrorists.
The looting claims came as Israel alleged that Hamas terrorists used first aid kits distributed by the United Nations during their murderous raid into the south of the country.