Thousands loot UN aid warehouses in Gaza as desperation grows and Israel widens ground offensive
A U.N. agency says thousands of people have broken into aid warehouses in Gaza to take flour and basic hygiene products DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- Thousands of people broke into aid warehouse s in Gaza to take flour and basic hygiene products, a U.N. agency said Sunday, in a mark of growing desperation and the breakdown of public order three weeks into the war between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. Tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war, three weeks after Hamas launched a brutal incursion into Israel. The widening ground offensive came as Israel also pounded the territory from air, land and sea. The bombardment — described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war — knocked out most communications in the territory late Friday, largely cutting off the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people from the world. Communications were restored to much of Gaza early Sunday. The I...