As Hamas's control of Gaza weakens, lawlessness poses deadly threat to civilians

While nowhere in Gaza can be considered safe, among the most dangerous places these days is anywhere there's food.

Many of the roads used by humanitarian agencies to transport and deliver basic necessities have descended into chaos. The trucks that carry food are routinely attacked and looted.   

And the spaces outside the territory's few operating bakeries have become death traps, often jammed with desperate, hungry people climbing over each other to grab limited supplies of bread. 

While Israel and Hezbollah have seemingly quieted their hostilities in Lebanon, the war grinds on in Gaza, with lawlessness emerging as the latest threat to a population already suffering from malnutrition, displacement and unrelenting attacks from the sky by Israel's military.

Humanitarian groups, the heads of local clans and local business leaders all say Hamas's grip on power in the territory is fading, and that it is empowering criminal elements that are taking over some of the militant group's operations.

In the turmoil, 46-year-old truck driver Basel Shaheber says he was lucky to escape with his life after a recent aid delivery was targeted by looters.

"They shoot at our tires, they shoot at the driver, they shoot at everyone," he told a videographer working for CBC News near the southern city of Rafah.

The cab of the truck beside him had the type of battle scars more typically seen on military vehicles such as tanks or armoured personnel carriers.

A large bullet hole just beside the driver's seat shattered the windshield. A chunk of the front grate was missing from where another bullet penetrated. There were more bullet holes in the wheels of his cab.

"If you don't do as you're told, you die," Shaheber said.

Several different sources told CBC News those making the demands are organized looters that steal aid meant to be distributed for free and selling it at vastly inflated prices. 

A bag of flour on the black market can go for up to $300 Cdn a sack — a price only the richest families in Gaza can afford to pay. For everyone else, it's often a chaotic crush to get what little food is available.

The videographer working for CBC News witnessed scenes of pandemonium outside a bakery in Deir Al Balah on Friday, as hundreds of people were beaten back by men with sticks as they pushed forward to try to get loaves of pita. At least three people were killed, including two children.

Who, exactly, is responsible for the rise in crime, price-gouging and challenges with distributing food and humanitarian aid is the subject of intense disagreement between Israelis and those in Gaza.