Family clans try to secure aid convoys in Gaza from criminal lootings

As food and aid distribution in Gaza continues to be plagued by violence and death, influential clans and tribes that have long existed in the territory are trying to secure aid convoys entering the region.

The National Gathering of Palestinian Clans and Tribes, which helped escort a rare shipment of flour in northern Gaza on Wednesday, said it has begun efforts together to guard aid convoys and prevent lootings.

Aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip have been limited, leading to scenes of chaos as vulnerable civilians are largely left out when armed gunmen and Israeli forces cause ensuing violence. Alaa El-Din Al-Aklouk, one of the mukhtars — community leaders elected by large families who make up the clans — announced the plan with other leaders on Wednesday.

"The clans came together to send a message of safety and security to the Palestinian people," he told CBC freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife. "[The clans] will put in every effort to deliver aid to those who deserve it ... without any violence or abuse from others."

Since May 27, Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 549 people have been killed and more than 4,000 have been wounded near the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites or as they waited for United Nations food trucks to enter. It is unclear how many of those killed or injured were shot by Israel Defence Forces (IDF), as criminal gangs were also reported to be present, according to witnesses who spoke to CBC News.

The GHF has rejected accusations that its aid distribution centres are dangerous, saying it delivered aid in a "secure, controlled, accountable manner — eliminating the risk of diversion."

The latest efforts to secure aid come as Israel's Military Advocate General ordered an investigation on Friday into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli soldiers were ordered by the army to deliberately fire at Palestinians attempting to reach aid distribution sites, according to an exclusive report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Haaretz said that officers and soldiers, who were unnamed, revealed that commanders "ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat."

In a statement to CBC News on Friday, an IDF spokesperson said the army rejects the accusation made by Haaretz, saying it does not instruct soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution sites.

"In light of recent reports of incidents of harm to the civilians approaching the distribution centres, the incidents are being examined by the relevant IDF authorities," it said.

The Israeli prime minister, meanwhile, denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday.

"IDF soldiers receive clear orders to avoid harming innocent civilians — and they act accordingly," Benjamin Netanyahu said.

With the police infrastructure in Gaza crumbling in the midst of the war, clan members have taken up arms to secure aid trucks and ensure they get to the barracks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) safely and, eventually, to the people.

As trucks entered through the Zikim area in western Gaza City on Wednesday, armed and masked men from the clans lined the road — some with guns and others with sticks. They controlled the crowd and fired warning shots when someone got too close to the trucks.