The Gaza Strip is experiencing a surge in food prices following the violent robbery of nearly 100 UN aid trucks by armed men.

Out of 109 trucks entering central Gaza on Saturday, 97 were violently looted, with aid forcibly unloaded at gunpoint, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Due to critical flour shortages, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis have operated at reduced capacity for weeks, many closing entirely. The agency warns that without immediate intervention, severe food shortages will worsen, jeopardizing the lives of over 2 million people reliant on humanitarian aid.

A Deir al-Balah resident told the Associated Press that flour prices have risen to over $100 a bag, if available.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated that the Israeli military directed the 109-truck convoy to an unfamiliar route after crossing at Kerem Shalom, where the robbery occurred.

Israel blames criminal gangs for the theft.

However, Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, alleges the perpetrators were Bedouin youth operating near Israeli positions east of Rafah.

Al-Aqsa TV, a Hamas-affiliated broadcaster, reported that Hamas security forces killed 20 looters in a counter-operation.

A displaced Gaza City resident, Nora Muhanna, told the AP, “There are no goods, and even if there were, there’s no money.”

UNRWA also stated that Israel is neglecting its legal obligations to ensure the population’s basic needs and facilitate safe aid delivery, emphasizing that these responsibilities extend until aid reaches the intended recipients within the Gaza Strip.