Israeli foreign ministry claims Palestinians looted Hamas warehouse hoarding food
The World Food Programme confirmed the warehouse was one of its aid depots
Claim
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed the warehouse storing flour that was overrun and looted by Palestinians on Wednesday belonged to Palestinian militant group Hamas, who it said has been hoarding food.
Background
Crowds of people stormed a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, storing flour and other food items, according to reports on Wednesday, May 28. At least two people were reportedly killed in the rush. Footage was shared showing a warehouse full of people with boxes being thrown through the air.
It was the second incident of looting in as many days and came after people overran a distribution point by the controversial U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah as it began handing out food parcels on Tuesday.
The looting comes after Israel eased an 11-week blockade on all humanitarian and commercial deliveries to Gaza last week. However, the UN has said the limited aid being allowed to enter the Gaza Strip is inadequate for the needs of the people and estimates 500 to 600 trucks of supplies are needed on a daily basis.
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reposted a video of the warehouse overrun by people, claiming: "This is Hamas's warehouse in central Gaza -- full of food, kept away from the civilians. People stormed in. Hamas opened fire."
Throughout the blockade, Israel claimed that there was enough food and essential supplies in Gaza despite the international humanitarian community warning of the risk of famine in the Palestinian enclave.
The Gaza government's media office issued a statement on WhatsApp Wednesday evening saying: "We have followed the circulation of a video showing a number of starving civilians in the Gaza Strip breaking into a warehouse belonging to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in the central governorate -- a regrettable incident stemming from the catastrophic humanitarian conditions endured by the population due to the intensified Israeli siege and its systematic starvation policy."
It added: "In a blatant attempt to mislead and cover up this crime, the Israeli occupation army hastily issued a false narrative claiming that the government in Gaza is hiding tons of flour in its warehouses, accusing it of starving the population."
In response to the accusations of the hoarding of aid, the media office said: "Information we have, supported by international organizations, confirms that the Israeli occupation army itself prevented the WFP from distributing flour and food to needy Palestinian families, instead ordering that it be sent exclusively to bakeries."
Method
The Israeli foreign ministry used a post by Ihab Hassan, who describes himself as Director of Human Rights Project at the Washington-based NGO Agora Initiative, which states its aim "to mobilize the public to find solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories".
About an hour and a half after posting the video claiming it shows a Hamas warehouse, Hassan corrected his post to say they stormed the Al-Ghafari warehouse where Hamas opened fire. The corrected version appears to have been posted over an hour and a half before the Israeli foreign ministry put out the claim it had been a Hamas warehouse, linking to Hassan's original post.
The WFP issued a statement on Wednesday evening saying: "Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP's Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in Central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution."
"Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident. WFP is still confirming details," it added.
On May 23, a video message published by WFP, showed flour being delivered to the warehouse in Deir al-Balah. Nour Hammad, communications assistant at WFP, speaks into a camera and appears to be at the warehouse as flour is being unloaded. She says: "Today I'm in Deir al-Balah in one of WFP's biggest warehouses. Until yesterday morning, this warehouse was totally empty because for over 11 weeks not a drop of humanitarian aid or commercial supplies were allowed into the Gaza Strip."
The video then shows bags of flour being unloaded, with Hammad saying: "This is the first batch of wheat flour into this warehouse. After 11 weeks of total emptiness."
Rating
The World Food Programme confirmed one of its warehouses in Deir al-Balah was overrun by desperate people in search of food. The warehouse had begun storing aid in recent days for distribution after Israel eased the blockade on Gaza.
Sources
Israel Foreign Ministry (2025). Available at: This is Hamas’s warehouse in central Gaza — full of food, kept away from the civilians. [online] X [Accessed 29 May 2025].
Hassan, I. (2025). Available at: BREAKING: People in Gaza stormed one of Hamas’ warehouses [online] X [Accessed 29 May 2025].
Hassan, I. (2025). Available at: BREAKING:People in Gaza stormed Al-Ghafari warehouse in Gaza ... [online] X [Accessed 29 May 2025].
UN News (2025). Available at: Gazans’ suffering goes on amid intensifying Israeli strikes [online]. [Accessed 29 May 2025].
WFP in the Middle East & North Africa. (2025). Available at: WFP_MENA [online] X [Accessed 29 May 2025].
WFP (2025). Available at: Until this week, this warehouse in #Gaza was totally empty. [online] X [Accessed 29 May 2025].