Monday, 25 May 2026
A Palestinian inspects the site of an Israeli airstrike on a house that was hit on Wednesday, in Gaza City, June 26, 2025. REUTERS
Israel halts aid as Gazan clans deny theft by Hamas
CAIRO/TEL AVIV – Israel has suspended humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza for two days in an effort to stop supplies from falling into Hamas’s hands, an official said Thursday.
The move came after images surfaced showing masked men atop aid trucks—images that clan leaders claimed depicted tribesmen safeguarding the shipments, not hijacking them for Hamas.
Hamas, the group that has governed Gaza for over 20 years but now holds only parts of the enclave after nearly two years of conflict with Israel, denied any involvement in the alleged aid seizures, according to Reuters.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz released a joint statement announcing that Netanyahu had instructed the military to deliver, within two days, a strategy to prevent Hamas from intercepting aid supplies.
The announcement followed what Netanyahu and Katz described as new intelligence suggesting Hamas was intercepting aid destined for civilians in northern Gaza. Although the statement did not specify the new findings, a video shared on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men—some armed, most carrying sticks—riding atop aid trucks.
Speaking anonymously, an Israeli official told Reuters that the temporary two-day halt in aid deliveries was intended to give the military time to develop a new approach.
No immediate responses were offered by the Israeli prime minister’s office, the defense ministry, or the Israeli military.
The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, representing Gaza’s powerful clans, clarified that the protection of the convoy was part of a tribal initiative to secure humanitarian aid and asserted that no Palestinian faction—including Hamas—was involved.
Throughout the conflict, various clans, civil society organizations, and groups—including Fatah, Hamas’s main political rival—have stepped up to help secure and distribute aid convoys. Extended families bound by blood and marriage ties have long played a critical role in Gaza’s social fabric.
Amjad al-Shawa, head of a coalition of Palestinian non-governmental organizations, explained that the aid protected by clans on Wednesday was being delivered to families in need. The nearly two-year-long Israeli military campaign has created severe shortages of food and essential items, displacing the majority of Gaza’s two million residents.