Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was asked at a Monday press conference for updates on the Saturday robbery that was carried out at gunpoint near the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

“When armed people try to take control of a vehicle and goods, we’re not asking questions, and they’re not wearing insignias,” Dujarric told the press.

Pressed for any relevant information, the spokesman reiterated that U.N. officials “do not have that kind of granular detail right now.”

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East announced the interception of humanitarian aid on Monday, explaining that personnel were forced by armed criminals to unload the vast majority of the trucks before the contents could be properly distributed.

UNRWA blamed Israeli authorities for “continu[ing] to disregard their legal obligations under international law to ensure the population’s basic needs are met and to facilitate the safe delivery of aid.”

However, UNRWA does not accept Israeli protection for its humanitarian aid convoys nor “protection from any warring party.”

“The best protection for us is the community, right?” Dujarric said at the Monday press conference. “The best protection for us is for people to know that aid will come in every day at massive levels.”

This reliance on the community for protection has become untenable as remaining Hamas combatants and marauding gangs vie for resources entering the Gaza Strip.

“Throughout the war, we’ve heard stories about how there are gangs and there are tribes and lawless areas where different people are exploiting the situation to not only harm civilians but also to steal aid and then sell the aid,” said Seth Frantzman, the author of The October 7 War and an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “I think you never know necessarily where the Hamas aspect ends and the gangs and lawlessness begin.”

The Hamas security forces, an ostensible police outfit operating as an enforcement arm of the terrorist organization, have been a target of the Israeli military since the beginning of hostilities on Oct. 7 of last year.

The crippled Hamas-affiliated police force remaining in Gaza has attempted to crack down on black market looters, going so far as to shoot suspected criminals, according to the Financial Times.

“It’s clear that Hamas has pretty strong control over Central Gaza — which is an area of four different urban areas, generally called the central camps. It consists of a place called Maghazi, Nuseirat, Deir Al Balah,and Bureji. It’s four different places. And I think it’s clear that Hamas has very firm control over the area,” Frantzman said. “In other parts of Gaza, it’s much less.”

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A lack of aid deliveries has thrown large swaths of the Gaza Strip into a state of virtual lawlessness as civilians are forced to scrounge for food and supplies on the black market. The gaps in aid distribution that Hamas is unwilling or unable to address are now filled by aid thieves and smugglers — at a comfortable profit.

The number of Hamas personnel who continue to operate within the law enforcement services is nearly impossible to calculate due to both high casualties and the abandonment of uniforms to avoid unwanted attention.