Israeli protesters attack Gaza aid trucks in the West Bank

Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks destined for Gaza in the occupied West Bank on Monday, throwing food packages onto the streets and tearing open bags of grain.

The trucks attacked at the Tarqumiya checkpoint west of Hebron came from Jordan and were heading to the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are suffering from food and aid shortages.

The White House condemned the attack, calling the “looting” of aid convoys a “complete scandal.”

The group reportedly behind the protest said it was demonstrating against the ongoing detention of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Unconfirmed footage was shown and was shared on social media Protesters threw boxes from trucks onto the ground and trampled on them after they fell.

Some videos appeared to show vehicles being set on fire later that evening. The BBC could not independently verify this.

According to Israeli media reports, the activist group Tzav 9 was responsible for organizing the protest.

Israeli media reports describe them as a right-wing group trying to stop humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza while Israeli hostages are being held there.

One protester told AFP that she was at the checkpoint on Monday because she heard that aid trucks were “on their way into the hands of Hamas, which is trying to kill other soldiers and other Israeli citizens.”

Hana Giat, 33, said “no food should enter Gaza” until Israeli hostages are returned “healthy and alive.”

In a statement cited by The Jerusalem Post, Tzav 9 rejected some of the protesters’ actions and said that “acts were committed today that are not in line with the values ​​of our movement.”

However, it added that “blocking the trucks is an effective and practical step in which we shout that ‘no help will proceed until the last hostage has returned'”.

Four protesters, including a minor, were arrested at the demonstration, according to a statement from their lawyers.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the protesters’ behavior was “completely unacceptable” and that the White House had raised its concerns to “the highest levels of the Israeli government.”

The humanitarian situation in Gaza – the destination of the aid trucks – is of great concern to many in the international community.

The United Nations World Food Program has warned that Palestinians in northern Gaza are facing “full-scale famine.” While in the south, where most Palestinians seek refuge, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating.

Israel has long said it is committed to facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to and within the Gaza Strip and has accused Hamas of stealing aid intended for civilians.

Monday’s incident occurred on Israel’s Memorial Day as the country paused to pay respects to those who lost their lives in the war.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the names of 826 people from the security forces and 834 victims of terrorist attacks were added to the country’s list of martyrs this year.

Almost all of them came from the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.

According to Israeli authorities, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s attack on southern Israel last year, which killed about 1,200 people and took 252 others hostage.

More than 35,090 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

While the Israeli offensive has focused on the Gaza Strip, tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank have increased since the start of the war.

According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, around 700,000 Israelis live in 160 settlements along with 2.7 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Almost the entire international community considers the settlements illegal, although Israel denies this.