IDF Kills Terrorists Who Hijacked Gaza Aid Convoy

Latest Developments

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on August 30 that it had successfully conducted a targeted strike on a group of armed men who hijacked an aid convoy dispatched by the Washington, DC-based American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) to southern Gaza city of Rafah. According to the IDF statement, the Israeli military and Anera were coordinating a humanitarian aid convoy into the south Rafah area. “During the convoy’s journey, armed men took over a vehicle at the front of the convoy (a jeep) and began to lead it,” the statement noted.

The IDF said that it carried out a precision strike after determining that it was able to target only the vehicle in which the gunmen were traveling without impacting the other vehicles. “There was no damage to the other vehicles in the convoy and it reached its destination according to the plan,” the IDF said. The IDF said that representatives from its Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit contacted Anera representatives, confirming that no Anera employees were harmed. “The presence of armed men in a humanitarian convoy without coordination is against the procedures and makes it difficult to secure the convoys and their workers and thus also harms the humanitarian effort in Gaza,” the IDF added.

In another incident, the World Food Programme (WFP) temporarily suspended operations in the Gaza Strip. According to a WFP statement, 10 bullets struck one of its vehicles as it approached an IDF checkpoint at the Wadi Gaza bridge on August 27. The WFP said that it had received multiple clearances from the IDF before the incident. No WFP personnel were injured as the vehicle was equipped with bulletproof glass. Reuters reported on August 29 that Israel informed the United States, after an initial review of the incident, that the shots were fired due to a “communication error” between Israeli military units.

Expert Analysis

“It certainly appears that the IDF did its best to protect a humanitarian convoy from being hijacked by terrorists without putting the convoy at risk. By now, everyone on the ground knows that the IDF is watching to prevent Hamas’s diversion of aid — armed individuals unexpectedly seizing control of a lead car would quite obviously trigger a response.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

“Terrorist groups and criminal organizations have systematically exploited humanitarian organizations’ goodwill for their gain. Hamas and its allies have stolen aid to bolster their fighters, while criminal enterprises have peddled this assistance on the black market at inflated prices. Meanwhile, it is Palestinian civilians who suffer from the consequences of these criminal actions.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Anera Says Gunmen Were Not Vetted

In a news release following the strike, Anera said that shortly after its aid convoy left the Kerem Shalom crossing on its way to deliver food and fuel to the Emirati Red Crescent hospital in Gaza, “four community members with experience in previous missions and engagement in community security” with Anera’s transit company, Move One, “stepped forward and requested to take command of the leading vehicle, citing concern that the route was unsafe and at risk of being looted.”

The organization added that the four “were neither vetted nor coordinated in advance, and Israeli authorities allege that the lead car was carrying numerous weapons.” Anera said that the “coordinated and cleared transport plan called for unarmed security guards in the convoy” and that it was conducting a thorough review of the incident.

Hamas Gunmen ‘Steal’ From Gazans

On May 2, the U.S. State Department reported that Hamas had hijacked a major humanitarian aid shipment. The IDF has repeatedly filmed Hamas terrorists taking over aid trucks entering Gaza since October 7. Last December, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit released a video “in which Hamas terrorists are shown stealing food and humanitarian aid from civilians in Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood and assaulting them.”

“Expert Panel Says ‘Imminent’ Famine in Gaza Never Materialized,” FDD Flash Brief

“Hamas Diverts Jordan Aid Convoys in Gaza,” FDD Flash Brief

“How to ensure humanitarian aid gets to the right people in Gaza,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Israel to Set Up Coordination Room for Gaza Aid,” FDD Flash Brief