Protesters in Israel arrested after attacking aid trucks in Gaza

Several people were arrested in connection with an attack Monday on a humanitarian convoy heading to Gaza, according to Israeli officials.

Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks heading to Gaza from the West Bank. Aid groups say civilians are facing “widespread famine” and a humanitarian crisis amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Footage of the incident, captured by bystanders at the scene and shared online, appears to show protesters blocking and attacking humanitarian vehicles near Hebron that were crossing into the West Bank from Jordan, destroying crates of water, food and other aid to Gaza. Aid trucks can also be seen set on fire and left burning on the road.

The attack on the convoy is the culmination of weeks of protesters trying to block aid trucks from reaching Gaza, with demonstrators saying the aid would end up in the hands of the Hamas terror group.

The White House condemned the destruction of the aid, calling it “completely and completely unacceptable behavior.”

“It is a total scandal that there are people attacking and looting these convoys coming from Jordan and going to Gaza to bring humanitarian aid,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday during a press briefing. “We are reviewing the tools we have to respond to this situation and we are also raising our concerns at the highest level of the Israeli government.

Israeli law enforcement has only publicly stated that an investigation into the attack on the humanitarian convoy is underway.

Several humanitarian organizations, including United Nations organizations, have warned that Gaza is experiencing “catastrophic” levels of hunger and need.

Immediately after October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in Israel, Israel implemented a blockade of Gaza and severely limited the amount of goods entering the territory. Since then, some Gaza border crossings have reopened, but rescue workers say the aid arriving is far less than what is needed.

Amnesty International is among human rights organizations that have accused Israel of not granting enough permissions to deliver sufficient aid to Gaza, and that ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza are making it difficult to deliver what little aid is available. authorized.

Israel denies the accusations and says the UN, its partners and other humanitarian agencies have created logistical challenges, resulting in a bottleneck of aid to Gaza. Additionally, the Israeli government claimed that Hamas was stealing aid intended for civilians. The UN and Hamas dispute these respective claims.

More than 180 aid workers from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and associated agencies have been killed while delivering aid to Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the United Nations agency.

In Gaza, more than 34,790 people have been killed and more than 78,000 injured since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. More than 1,700 Israelis were killed and more than 8,700 injured, according to Israeli authorities.

ABC News’ Mary Kekatos and Marcus Moore contributed to this report.