Hamas has executed six Palestinians in Gaza and shot 13 others in the legs for alleged looting, the militant group said in a statement, as desperation grows under a complete Israeli blockade that has now entered its third month.
In a statement issued Friday, Hamas said it would carry out more executions against “every criminal we can reach in the next two days.”
Since last week, armed gangs have increasingly taken to the streets of Gaza City, going after some of the remaining food supplies and challenging Hamas’ control of the territory, according to CNN journalists in Gaza. Hamas claims some of these “criminal gangs” are collaborating with Israel.
“A warning has been issued – those who ignore it bear full responsibility,” Hamas said in the statement.
The executions – and Hamas’ vow that more will follow – is a stark reminder that the militant group, even weakened after more than 18 months of war, retains power in Gaza.
As food supplies have begun running out across the coastal enclave, Palestinians have grown increasingly desperate to find whatever food remains. On Wednesday night, thousands of people stormed a UN facility and multiple warehouses across Gaza City looking for remnants of meals, such as flour or canned food, according to a journalist who witnessed one such incident.
Hamas claimed some of the alleged looters were collaborating with Israel.
On Saturday, Hamas’ Ministry of Interior and National Security claimed that “a group of outlaws, collaborators with the occupation, has emerged to threaten the lives of citizens, spreading fear and chaos in some neighborhoods, and attacking public and private properties.”
Scenes of mass hunger have become far more common as Gaza’s population of 2.1 million Palestinians edges closer to famine. Israel imposed a complete blockade of Gaza on March 2, stopping the supplies of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, into the besieged territory.
Dr. Ahmad Al-Farra, the head of the pediatric department at Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza warned over the weekend that “a looming health catastrophe is threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands.”
“We are facing the danger of a massive wave of deaths due to malnutrition if the current humanitarian crisis continues unaddressed,” he told CNN. Earlier Saturday, two-month-old Janan Saleh Al-Sakkafi died due to malnutrition at Al-Rantisi Hospital, Dr. Munir Al Barsh, Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza told CNN.
The US State Department said an announcement regarding humanitarian aid is possible “in the coming days” that would allow much-needed food and medicine to reach the Palestinian population without being diverted by Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
“Safeguards are finally in place. Israel remains secure, Hamas empty handed, and Gazans with access to critical aid,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The spokesperson described the project as an element of “creative thinking” but did not provide any details on how it would function in Gaza. An unnamed private foundation would manage the aid mechanism and the delivery of the humanitarian supplies into Gaza, the spokesperson said.
Since taking power in the enclave in 2007, Hamas has executed dozens of suspects including some accused of collaborating with Israel.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, is pressing on with chief of staff Eyal Zamir saying on Sunday that the IDF would issue “tens of thousands” of orders to reservists in the coming week, to ramp up its offensive in the enclave.
Khader Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed to this story.
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