Gazans Go Hungry as Hamas, Israel and Clans Battle for Control
- Israel’s army seeks to end all Hamas control, leaving vacuum
- Disputes rage over level of hunger — and who is responsible
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A top Hamas police commander met in mid-March with the heads of a Gaza clan who’d been commandeering aid meant for hungry Palestinians. He told them to stop taking the shipments or they’d be killed. A week later, that commander was killed — by Israeli troops.
The Israelis weren’t acting at the clan’s request. Rather, all three — Hamas, clans and the Israeli military — are engaged in a bloody battle for control of north Gaza and aid distribution, making an already troubled process more dangerous and unreliable. Famine is a threat, and people are beginning to die of hunger, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.