Hundreds of people raid WFP’s Gaza warehouse after week of Israeli-hindered aid distribution

Hundreds of people stormed a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Deir al-Balah Governorate on Wednesday night to seize food provisions after distribution of the little aid that has entered the strip in the last week has been marked by chaotic and often violent outbursts due to Israel’s restrictions on how it makes its way to people. 

Two eyewitnesses of Wednesday night’s raid who spoke to Mada described an hours-long struggle between hungry crowds and security personnel stationed to protect the warehouse.

At least two people were killed in the incident, according to a statement published by the United Nations program, which said the raid took place amid “spiralling” humanitarian conditions following over 80 days of a complete blockade on the strip. 

The ongoing siege imposed by Israel’s occupation has stretched dwindling resources in the coastal enclave to their limit, caused widespread sickness, that has led to a rash of deaths from malnutrition, and prompted a rapid breakdown in social order. 

At the same time, Israel has sought to install a securitized aid-distribution scheme in isolation from independent humanitarian organizations. Alongside the American and Swiss-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli military has established distribution centers policed by its own military, while restricting humanitarian organizations’ access to deliver and distribute supplies to families in need, which WFP has called “the most effective way to prevent widespread starvation.” 

Those that have made their way to those centers, the first of which opened earlier this week, have faced humiliating conditions and, for some, arrest. When chaos broke out at the center in Rafah earlier this week, Israeli forces opened fire to try to restore order, several of the thousands of people who had gathered at the distribution point were killed and wounded.

Israel’s induced starvation has prompted a spike in incidents of armed theft across Gaza in recent weeks.

An eyewitness to the raid on the WFP’s Ghafari warehouse on Wednesday evening told Mada Masr that they were aware before the incident that large quantities of flour were being held in the warehouse. 

Israel allowed the delivery of sacks of flour to the WFP for the first time in over 80 days last week. However, they prohibited the UN agency from resorting to the previous distribution method, which had seen flour given directly to families.

Due to Israel’s prohibition, the UN had to resort to distributing the flour to bakeries, which would then make bread and sell it to citizens. 

Bakeries, however, were unable to manage the crowds of people who had been without sufficient food for over two months.

Abu Talal Awwad, the owner of Zadna bakery in Deir al-Balah, told Mada Masr earlier this week that armed groups had stormed several bakeries in the central governorates of Gaza, including the Banna bakery in Deir al-Balah and Hajj bakery in Nuseirat, with assailants threatening to destroy equipment and assaulting staff.

An eyewitness to the storming of a bakery told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity th at while waiting in line at a bakery in Nuseirat camp to collect a bundle of loaves, a group of masked men wielding bladed weapons suddenly appeared, seized large quantities of bread, and fled the scene. The bakery subsequently shut down, leaving the eyewitness and tens of thousands of others without access to even a single loaf.

Eyewitness Nael Khattab was waiting outside Deir al-Balah’s Banna bakery on Saturday to collect a bundle of bread for his family. There was a large crowd and people began pushing, he told Mada Masr. The situation escalated further when some individuals broke down the barriers set up in front of the bakery entrance. The owners had no choice but to open the gates. 

"Chaos broke out," he continued. "Groups carrying bladed weapons stormed the bakery, stole bread, and loaded it into [tuktuks] waiting outside."

Resident Amal al-Hattou urged for flour to be distributed directly to citizens rather than forcing them to wait for hours at bakeries with no guarantee they’ll walk away with any bread.

“We’re ready to prepare the bread ourselves,” she said. “But we don’t want to go through this humiliation outside bakeries again just to get some bread.”

While some may accept the current bakery-based system in hopes of securing a daily supply of bread, it fails to meet the needs of Gaza’s large families, as the allocated quantities are insufficient.

Susan Bashir, another resident, said that her household includes 20 people, yet they are only permitted one bundle containing 18 small loaves. She asked how these few loaves are supposed to feed such a large family, adding that if flour were distributed directly, families could bake according to their actual needs.

Eyewitness Oday Hemeida called the mechanism ineffective and unjust to hundreds of thousands of residents. There is also no system to manage crowds at bakeries, he said, leading to mass congestion and countless thefts. 

Many bakeries have refused to participate in the new system, Abdel Nasser al-Ajrami, the head of the Gaza Bakery Owners Association, told Mada Masr, arguing that it fails to meet residents’ needs and puts bakeries at risk amid the rise of groups stealing bread. He also described thefts, and said that some of the stolen bread was reappearing in markets at extortionate prices.

The stocks positioned at the Ghafari warehouse that was raided on Wednesday were pre-positioned there for distribution, the WFP said on Wednesday night.

One of the eyewitnesses who spoke to Mada Masr about the raid said they joined the crowd at the Ghafari warehouse hoping they could get a sack of flour for themselves and their family, who they said had not eaten bread for weeks.

Armed individuals outside the warehouse initially attempted to defend it, opening fire on some of those who attempted to approach, the eyewitness said. They noted that several people were injured in the fracas over the course of several hours. A second eyewitness also saw armed security personnel outside, who ultimately withdrew as hundreds of people forced their way into the building.

Once the crowd was inside, they emptied the warehouse of all its contents, the first eyewitness said, while the second confirmed that the warehouse had been stocked with large amounts of flour. 

The raid on the warehouse and the failed attempt to have bakeries manage bread distribution may be enough for the WFP to be able to secure the ability to revert to its previous distribution method.

Two civil society representatives in the Gaza Strip told Mada Masr on Wednesday that the WFP is expected to begin distributing flour to families instead of bakeries over the coming days.

Bakers Owners Association in Gaza head Abdel Nasser al-Ajrami told Mada Masr that after meetings to determine a better mechanism, the WFP informed the association that Israel has finally approved the delivery of flour to the Gaza Strip week for direct distribution to residents, including its northern governorates, starting early next week. Nahed Shehaibar, the head of the Private Transport Association in Gaza, confirmed the information.

Ajrami noted that contacts have been made with the Israeli side to request the reopening of the Zikim crossing, on Israel's border with the northern Gaza Strip, to allow flour and food aid to enter the northern governorates. However, he added that Israel is yet to respond to the request. 

Ultimately, any change in the distribution method will be in Israel’s hands, as it controls all the entrance and exit points of Gaza. 

Approximately 1,000 tons of flour remain at the Karm Abu Salem crossing, awaiting Israeli approval to allow it into the strip in the coming days, Ajrami said.

An Egyptian official also told Mada Masr in recent days that authorities have trucks full of material stationed in North Sinai waiting to enter the strip. “We want to operate the Rafah border,” the official said, “but Israel doesn’t want to get out.” 

Israeli forces invaded Rafah, which borders Egypt, in May 2024 and have stationed forces occupying the area since.