Hamas Execution Of 4 People Who Pointed At Aid Trucks In Gaza

Gaza/DOK UNRWA Condition

JAKARTA - Hamas executed four people for looting several aid trucks that began to enter Gaza.

Sources said the four men were involved in last week's incident when six security officials were killed in Israeli airstrikes while they were working to prevent gang members from hijacking aid trucks.

"The four criminals who were executed were involved in looting crimes and led to the death of members of the troops tasked with securing aid trucks," one of the sources told Reuters on Monday, May 26.

Seven other suspects are being pursued, according to a statement issued by the group identifying itself as "Palestinian Resistance".

Humanitarian aid began pouring into Gaza last week after Israel surrendered to international pressure and lifted the blockade it imposed in early March.

Blockades cause half a million people to face hunger, according to global hunger monitors.

The aid group said deliveries had been hampered by looting, but they blamed Israel for creating a situation where hundreds of thousands of people had given up on the blockade.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. The issue of control over the aid truck has been hotly debated.

Israeli military officials said the security team Hamas formed was there to receive supplies, not to protect them, but there was no evidence of Hamas looting since easing the blockade last week.

Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, has long taken firm action against signs of dissent among Palestinians in Gaza, but has faced massive protests in recent months over the war.

Hamas faces challenges to its control by armed looting groups, some of whom have been convicted by shooting them in public.

Yasser Abu Shabab, a leader of a big clan in the Rafah area, which is now under the full control of the Israeli army, said he was building troops to secure aid deliveries to parts of the area.

He published pictures of his armed subordinates receiving and regulating aid truck traffic.

Hamas, who has been unable to operate in the Rafah region where Abu Shabab has some control, has accused him of looting international aid trucks in recent months and maintaining ties with Israel.

On the Facebook page using his name, Abu Shabab denied he had acted as an alternative to governments or other institutions and rejected charges of looting.

On the page, Abu Shabab is described as "the grassroots leader who opposes corruption and looting" and who protects aid convoys.

However, a Hamas security official called Abu Shabab a "alat used by the Israeli occupation to divide the internal Palestinian front".

When asked if the United Nations was working with Abu Shabab, UN humanitarian agency spokesman OCHA said they did not pay anyone to guard the aid truck.

"What we do is talk to the public regularly, build trust, and involve the authorities regarding urgent needs for more assistance to enter through more routes and more crossings," the spokesperson said.