As famine tightens its grip on the besieged Gaza Strip, a new phase of destruction is taking shape—not only through bombs and starvation but through the slow dismantling of Gaza’s social fabric. In a territory already devastated by genocide, a suffocating blockade, and international abandonment, reports of looting and organised theft are emerging, raising fears of a deeper strategy at play.

What appears on the surface as chaos born of desperation is, according to local sources, part of a calculated effort to fragment Palestinian society from within. Armed groups—some reportedly moving freely in areas under Israeli surveillance—have looted markets, aid convoys, and humanitarian warehouses. Eyewitnesses suggest these actions are taking place with, at best, deliberate neglect from the occupying forces, and at worst, quiet coordination.

In one harrowing incident, a charity soup kitchen in Gaza, already targeted by looters, was hit by an Israeli airstrike the very next day after volunteers tried to protect it. These developments fuel long-standing concerns that the Israeli occupation is not only targeting infrastructure but also engineering internal strife, using hunger as a tool of destabilisation.

Local leaders and community groups have issued strong warnings against this descent into lawlessness. The Internal Front in Gaza vowed to hold accountable anyone threatening social peace, calling such acts “a red line.” Families, too, have spoken out, condemning the exploitation of Gaza’s suffering and reaffirming their commitment to solidarity, dignity, and moral values—even in the face of starvation.

The humanitarian collapse is now so severe that the Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs has warned of mass death by starvation, especially among children. The commission painted a haunting picture of Gaza’s current reality: emaciated bodies, silent deaths, and desperate families searching through rubble for anything to eat—scenes that, it said, will forever stain the conscience of the world.

While the international community delays, the Israeli military continues its campaign of destruction, targeting municipal equipment and crippling basic services. Since early March, no humanitarian aid has been allowed to enter the Strip, deepening the crisis for over two million Palestinians trapped in what has become an open-air graveyard.

Yet even now, amid the ruins and scarcity, Gaza’s people continue to resist—not just with words or protests, but by refusing to let despair divide them. It is a resilience that refuses to be broken, even as the world looks away.