But that isn't the only Hamas record.
The percentage of collected food aid that was stolen - which was at about 85% from May through July - reached an astounding 99% last week. That eclipses the 95% from the previous week.
10,352 tons of food and nutrition aid was collected. 10,237 tons of that was stolen by Hamas and others.
Put another way: last week the UN coordinated 2,500 more tons of aid than the week before - but the amount of aid that reached Gazans was 71% less than the week before (115 tons vs. 401 tons.)
The 99% figure seems to reflect a more organized process for stealing. It appears likely that these aren't local gangs but a far more comprehensive theft operation, one which only Hamas has the capability of mounting. It sees that the UN has bent over backwards to not single out Hamas for stealing food so now it can do it more brazenly.
Aid agencies think that they can solve the hunger problem in Gaza by flooding Gaza with aid. They are assuming that this would make black market prices go down. But Hamas looks at more aid as more profit - if they steal virtually all the aid, no matter how much enters, they control the entire market and the prices. So while perhaps independent bandits lose some incentive to hijack trucks, Hamas' incentive goes up. It is entirely possible that the higher percentage of food stolen last week indicates this new economic dynamic in Gaza - a shift from gangs to more Hamas thieves.
Also, the 99% figure makes one wonder if workers at the NGOs in Gaza aren't being paid off to tell Hamas when and where the aid trucks will travel. Normally one would expect increasing aid would make it more difficult to steal an even higher proportion of it, so it appears plausible that there is cooperation, kickbacks or coercion between Hamas and the aid workers.
The story doesn't end here.
The international community seems quite unconcerned that virtually all the aid they send to Gaza is stolen before it reaches the people - and then Gazans have to pay for it to receive any food at all. The stories about aid being stolen were in the media three weeks ago, yet there have been no statements I am aware of from governments who donate to Gaza expressing concern.
Similarly, the NGOs like the World Central Kitchen, the ICRC and UNICEF - always quick to blame Israel for any lack of food in Gaza - have never even publicly admitted that almost none of the food they send to Gaza reaches their own people on the ground. They are certainly aware of this - but they don't say a word, leaving researchers to tease the data out of UNOPS reports.
Why the hell not? If they care about feeding Gazans, shouldn't they be in the forefront of condemning the massive amounts of theft?
I dislike conspiracy theories, but the utter silence of the world and NGOs over the amount of food being likely stolen by Hamas is hard to ignore.
(Note: UNOPS updates its data sometimes weeks after the days in question. My figures before 7/28 are from previous analysis, I did not check if they have been updated. I did not separate food and nutrition aid from other types like health and sanitation before then. However, food aid is typically over 99% in weight so the pre-August numbers should be largely correct. Food aid is more likely to be stolen than hygiene and other aid so the percentages may be a little off in earlier dates. Also, I am starting my weeks on Mondays, because that was the day that aid resumed on 5/19.)
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