(NewsNation) — Thousands of people in Gaza stormed United Nations warehouses over the weekend, the agency said, in what it called a sign of desperation as the Palestinian enclave faces heavy bombardment of Israeli airstrikes.
The U.N.-operated warehouses contained flour, hygiene supplies and other basic survival goods, the U.N. said in a news release. One of the warehouses in Deir al-Balah is where UNRWA, the U.N. agency dealing with Palestinian refugees, stores supplies from humanitarian convoys coming from Egypt.
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza,” said the Director of UNRWA Affairs in the Gaza Strip, Thomas White, who added, “People are scared, frustrated and desperate.”
The U.N. and other humanitarian agencies have been working to move aid into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt for the 2.3 million Palestinians living inside Gaza.
On Sunday, the largest convoy of humanitarian aid yet — 33 trucks — entered Gaza, and another 26 entered on Monday. Relief workers say the amount is still far less than what is needed.
The U.N. said aid trucks were unable to enter Saturday due to a communications blackout that occurred as Israel ramped up ground operations in the northern part of the territory.
“The current system of convoys is geared to fail,” White said in the news release, explaining that very few trucks, slow processes, strict inspections, supplies that do not match the requirements of UNRWA and the other aid organizations, and mostly the ongoing ban on fuel, “are all a recipe for a failed system.”
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened amid heavy Israeli bombardment and expanding ground operations in the northern part of the territory. According to the latest figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health — run by Hamas — more than 8,300 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said.
The United Nations has called for a cease-fire, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected.
“Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas,” he told a news conference. “That will not happen.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.