GAZA — The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced Sunday it is suspending aid deliveries through the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing into Gaza, citing security threats from armed gangs that have looted recent convoys.

The decision comes as Gaza faces a worsening humanitarian crisis amid cold, rainy winter conditions.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, stated that the Gaza side of the route to the Kerem Shalom crossing has become too dangerous following multiple incidents of looting, including the theft of nearly 100 trucks of aid in mid-November and another shipment on Saturday.

Kerem Shalom, the primary crossing for aid into Gaza since Egypt closed the Rafah crossing in May, has been a critical lifeline for the war-ravaged region.

Nearly two-thirds of all aid entering Gaza in recent months has passed through Kerem Shalom, according to Israeli data.

In a post on X, Lazzarini criticized Israel’s restrictions on aid, the lack of safety along routes, and the targeting of Gaza’s Hamas-run police force, which previously provided public security.

The suspension of aid deliveries threatens to exacerbate Gaza’s dire conditions, where hundreds of thousands are displaced and dependent on international aid. Experts have warned of famine in northern Gaza, which has been cut off since early October by Israeli forces.

Israeli strikes overnight killed six people, including two children, in the Muwasi tent camp in southern Gaza, medical officials said. Four men were killed in a separate strike in Rafah. The Israeli military stated it was unaware of any strikes in the reported locations.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon accused the government of conducting ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced and up to 75,000 remain trapped in blockaded areas, according to UN estimates.

Yaalon said the far-right government is intent on “cleansing” northern Gaza of its Arab population, remarks that sparked condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

The war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, including more than 17,000 militants, according to Israeli data. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than half of those killed are women and children.

Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, no agreement has been reached to halt the conflict in Gaza.

International mediators, including the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, continue to push for a ceasefire and the release of over 100 hostages held by Hamas. — Agencies