Looting of Gaza stores signals worsening hunger crisis

May 1, 2025 , 08:34 PM

Reuters

(May 1, 2025) – Increased looting of food stores and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip shows growing desperation as hunger spreads two months after Israel cut off supplies to the Palestinian territory, aid officials say.

Palestinian residents and aid officials said at least five incidents of looting took place across the enclave on Wednesday, including at community kitchens, merchants’ stores, and the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency’s (UNRWA) main complex in Gaza.

Israeli forces are continuing their aerial and ground offensive across Gaza in the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas that began nearly 19 months ago. Israeli air strikes on Thursday killed at least 12 people, the territory’s health ministry said.

The looting “is a grave signal of how serious things have become in the Gaza Strip, the spread of hunger, the loss of hope and desperation among residents as well as the absence of the authority of the law,” said Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) in Gaza.

Thousands of displaced people broke into the UNRWA complex in Gaza City late on Wednesday, stealing medicines from its pharmacy and damaging vehicles, said Louise Wateridge, a senior official for the agency based in Jordan.

“The looting, while devastating, is not surprising in the face of total systemic collapse. We are witnessing the consequences of a society brought to its knees by prolonged siege and violence,” she said in a statement shared with Reuters.

Hamas deployed thousands of police and security forces across Gaza after a ceasefire took effect in January, but its armed presence shrunk sharply since Israel resumed large-scale attacks in March.

Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza Hamas-run government media office, described the looting incidents as “isolated individual practices that do not reflect the values and ethics of our Palestinian people.”

He said that despite being targeted, Gaza authorities were “following up on these incidents and addressing them in a way that ensures the preservation of order and human dignity.”

CHILD MALNUTRITION

Thawabta said Israel, which since March 2 has blocked the entry of medical, fuel, and food supplies into Gaza, was to blame. Israel says its move was aimed at pressuring Hamas to free hostages as the ceasefire agreement stalled.

Israel has previously denied that Gaza was facing a hunger crisis. It has not made clear when and how aid will be resumed.

Israel’s military accuses Hamas of diverting aid, which Hamas denies.

The United Nations warned earlier this week that acute malnutrition among Gaza’s children was worsening.

Community kitchens that have provided lifelines for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are at risk of closure due to lack of supplies, and face an additional threat from looting.

“This is going to undermine the ability of the community kitchens to provide meals to a great number of families, and an indication that things have reached an unprecedentedly difficult level,” PNGO’s Shawa told Reuters.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s campaign in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.

It was launched after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Much of the narrow coastal enclave has been reduced to rubble, leaving hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in tents or bombed-out buildings.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.