How gangsters took over Gaza’s aid routes
黑帮如何控制加沙的援助路线

Gaza’s most notorious gangster was rumoured to be dead on Monday after local security forces launched a rare ambush against criminal groups, killing as many as 22 people days after armed looters had robbed a convoy of UN aid trucks.
加沙最臭名昭著的黑帮分子周一传出死讯，此前当地安全部队对犯罪团伙发动了一次罕见的伏击，造成多达 22 人死亡，此次行动发生在武装掠夺者抢劫联合国援助车队几天之后。

But the very next day Yasser Abu Shabab emerged defiant, his men shutting down the road with a burning fuel truck to block aid trucks as payback, according to a senior UN official and two transport industry insiders.
但就在第二天，雅瑟尔·阿布·沙巴布表现出强硬态度，他的手下用一辆燃烧的油罐车封锁了道路，以此作为报复，阻止救援卡车通行，消息来源是联合国一位高级官员和两名运输行业内部人士。

The swift show of force underscores the rising power of Abu Shabab and other gangs in Gaza, who have in recent months developed a lucrative trade robbing aid trucks travelling into the enclave.
迅速的武力展示凸显了阿布沙巴布和加沙其他帮派的崛起，他们在最近几个月中发展出了一项有利可图的贸易，抢劫驶入该飞地的援助卡车。

These gangsters act, humanitarian officials and Palestinian transporters allege, with the tacit permission of the Israeli military: what a UN memo seen by the Financial Times called “the passive, if not active benevolence” of the Israel Defense Forces.
这些黑帮分子在行动，人道主义官员和巴勒斯坦运输者声称，这得到了以色列军方的默许：一份《金融时报》看到的联合国备忘录称之为“以色列国防军的被动，甚至是主动的仁慈”。

Led by escaped convicts and formed along family lines, the heavily-armed gangs defy Gazan authorities and operate freely along the border, a restricted Israeli military zone.
由逃脱的罪犯领导，并沿家庭关系组建，这些重武装的帮派无视加沙当局，在一个受限的以色列军事区沿边界自由活动。

They stockpile the looted goods in open-air headquarters — seemingly overlooked by Israeli surveillance drones — and resell the supplies via middlemen to destitute Palestinians at prohibitive prices.
他们在露天总部囤积掠夺来的物资——似乎未被以色列监视无人机注意到——并通过中介以高昂的价格转售给贫困的巴勒斯坦人。

The FT spoke to more than 20 people about the rise of systematic aid theft in the IDF-controlled zone, including Palestinian truck drivers, traders, humanitarian groups, security providers and UN officials in Gaza, many of whom had experienced the looting first hand. 
《金融时报》采访了 20 多位人士，讨论在以色列国防军控制区内系统性援助盗窃的增加，包括巴勒斯坦卡车司机、商人、人道主义组织、安全提供者以及在加沙的联合国官员，他们中的许多人亲身经历了抢劫。

They described how criminal networks had replaced individual looters, operating deep in the enclave’s south-eastern borderlands, beyond the reach of Gaza’s remaining police in what is known as a “red zone” to most Palestinians because of the IDF presence.
他们描述了犯罪网络如何取代了个体掠夺者，这些网络在该飞地东南边界深处运作，超出了加沙剩余警察的控制范围，在大多数巴勒斯坦人眼中，这被称为“红区”，因为以色列国防军的存在。

Aid deliveries have plummeted since Israel’s invasion of Rafah in south Gaza in May, which led to an increase in looting, and hit all-time lows in November.
自以色列在五月对加沙南部拉法的入侵以来，援助交付急剧下降，这导致了抢劫事件的增加，并在十一月达到了历史最低点。

The shortages have made even basic supplies increasingly valuable targets for theft. Up to 30 per cent of aid entering the enclave is stolen, according to an estimate by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In last week’s armed robbery, 97 of 109 UN trucks were lost.
短缺使得基本物资成为越来越有价值的盗窃目标。根据联合国人道主义事务协调办公室的估计，进入该飞地的援助中高达 30%被盗。在上周的武装抢劫中，109 辆联合国卡车中有 97 辆被盗。

Nahed Shohaybr, who leads Gaza’s private transport association, had to turn down UN delivery requests after multiple drivers with his company were killed by looters and more than half his fleet of 50 trucks had their tyres shot or batteries stolen.
纳赫德·肖海布尔，领导加沙私人运输协会，因多名公司司机被掠夺者杀害，以及超过一半的 50 辆卡车的轮胎被射击或电池被盗，不得不拒绝联合国的送货请求。

The thieves intercept trucks soon after they have entered via the enclave’s main southern crossing, known as Kerem Shalom.
窃贼在卡雷姆·沙洛姆（Kerem Shalom）这一主要南部通道进入后不久便拦截卡车。

“One kilometre to the west you’ll find the thieves on the road and in the bombed out buildings, and all around them are tanks. Why don’t those tanks attack them?” Shohaybr said. “For the military, this is a good way of indirectly starving Gaza.”
“往西一公里，你会发现小偷在路上和被轰炸的建筑里，周围都是坦克。那些坦克为什么不攻击他们？”肖哈伊布尔说。“对军方来说，这是一种间接让加沙饥饿的好方法。”

In response to written questions, the IDF said it was making “substantial efforts to allow the maximum possible volume of aid into Gaza”, and blamed Hamas for the theft.
以书面形式回应问题时，以色列国防军表示正在“做出重大努力，以允许尽可能多的援助进入加沙”，并指责哈马斯进行盗窃。

“Given the systematic attempts by terrorist organisations to exploit humanitarian aid for their own purposes, the IDF carries out targeted operations against militants looting this aid.” 
“鉴于恐怖组织系统性地试图利用人道主义援助为其自身目的，以色列国防军对掠夺这些援助的武装分子进行定点打击。”

Mohammad, a truck driver who has transported goods north from Kerem Shalom for the past 15 years, recounted a series of looting incidents in the summer where dozens of masked men carrying Kalashnikovs would surround the truck. On one occasion there were more than 80 attackers.
穆罕默德是一名卡车司机，过去 15 年来一直从凯雷姆·沙洛姆向北运输货物，他回忆起夏季发生的一系列抢劫事件，当时数十名戴着面具、手持卡拉什尼科夫步枪的男子包围了他的卡车。一次，有超过 80 名袭击者。

“First they shoot the wheels,” he said. “Then they steal the gas, the batteries, and everything inside the truck. They put a gun to your head.”
“他们先射击轮子，”他说。“然后他们偷走汽油、电池和卡车里的所有东西。他们把枪指着你的头。”

Gang members began to shoot some drivers in the hands and feet, according to two drivers and Shohaybr.
据两名司机和 Shohaybr 称，帮派成员开始向一些司机的手和脚开枪。

While some theft occurs on the road itself, in other cases trucks are forced into the gangs’ bases. In such instances, one transport broker said, “the driver is led under the threat of weapons to the eastern border areas within the eye line and earshot of the Israeli military”.
虽然一些盗窃发生在公路上，但在其他情况下，卡车被迫进入帮派的基地。在这种情况下，一位运输经纪人表示，“司机在武器威胁下被带到以色列军队的视线和听力范围内的东部边界地区。”

Multiple senior UN officials argue that such brazen theft could not happen without the assent of Israeli forces. “These guys are probably the only people in Gaza who can get 100 yards from an Israeli tank or Israeli soldiers without being shot,” one said.
多位高级联合国官员表示，这种公然的盗窃不可能在以色列军队的默许下发生。“这些人可能是加沙唯一能够在不被射击的情况下，距离以色列坦克或以色列士兵 100 码的人，”其中一位官员说。

Unarmed UN escorts and volunteer protection teams carrying sticks have, meanwhile, been hit by Israeli attacks, officials and locals said.
无武装的联合国护送队和携带棍棒的志愿保护队伍 meanwhile 已遭到以色列的攻击，官员和当地人表示。

Mohammad recalled being taken to a gang’s base where his truck was robbed. Vast amounts of looted goods surrounded him, including flour, canned food, blankets and medicine. 
穆罕默德回忆起被带到一个帮派的基地，他的卡车在这里被抢劫。周围堆满了大量被掠夺的物品，包括面粉、罐头食品、毯子和药品。

“Everything you can imagine, it was just piled up there. Out in the open: there were no walls, there was no building,” he said, adding that the base was less than 2km from the Kerem Shalom crossing.
“你能想象的一切，都堆在那里。无遮无挡：没有墙，没有建筑，”他说，并补充道，该基地距离凯伦·沙洛姆口岸不到 2 公里。

Trucks carrying commercial goods are held hostage until the trader pays a ransom to have his goods released, according to local business people.
据当地商人称，运载商业货物的卡车被扣押，直到商人支付赎金以释放他的货物。

“They take the truck with the driver. They have forklifts, and storage places. These are also known to the Israelis,” said Ayed Abu Ramadan, head of Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce. “They ask for a massive ransom for the commercial goods to be released. Whereas for the aid [from the UN and NGOs] they just take it and sell it in the markets.”
“他们带着司机的卡车。他们有叉车和储存地点。这些对以色列人来说也是众所周知的，”加沙商会会长阿耶德·阿布·拉马丹说。“他们要求为商业货物的释放支付巨额赎金。而对于来自联合国和非政府组织的援助，他们只是拿走并在市场上出售。”

Mohammad began to learn which gangs held which parts of the road. One section near the Kerem Shalom crossing is controlled by Shadi Soufi, who was awaiting execution in a Gazan prison before the war, which started after Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack.
穆罕默德开始了解哪些帮派控制了道路的哪些部分。在靠近凯伦·沙洛姆过境点的一个区域，由沙迪·苏菲控制，他在战争爆发前曾在加沙的一所监狱中等待执行死刑，而这场战争是在哈马斯 2023 年 10 月 7 日的袭击后开始的。

Soufi’s dramatic arrest years earlier had been broadcast across Gaza in a video published by security forces, and he was later sentenced to death for murder, according to media reports.
据媒体报道，苏菲几年前的戏剧性逮捕通过安全部队发布的视频在加沙广泛传播，随后他因谋杀被判处死刑。

But as Hamas-linked uniformed police were targeted by Israel, officers went underground and fled their stations and prisons, allowing those detained inside to leave. Gazans say some went on to become looters.
但随着与哈马斯有关的穿制服的警察被以色列瞄准，警员们开始隐匿，逃离他们的警局和监狱，允许被拘留者离开。加沙人表示，有些人随后成为了掠夺者。

A statement on a Facebook page affiliated to Soufi’s family confirmed he was let go from prison but denied his involvement in looting.
一份与苏菲家族相关的 Facebook 页面上的声明确认他已被释放出狱，但否认了他参与抢劫的指控。

The Soufi family is one of several Bedouin clans with a long presence in Gaza’s southern borderlands, where the new gangs are mostly organised along family lines, people familiar with the matter said.
Soufi 家族是几个在加沙南部边境地区长期存在的贝都因部落之一，知情人士表示，新帮派大多是以家族为基础组织的。

Abu Shabab’s gang, which is believed to control territory just 1.5km from the border crossing, is the most powerful group, according to truck drivers, transport brokers and aid and humanitarian officials.
阿布沙巴布的帮派被认为控制着距离边境口岸仅 1.5 公里的领土，依据卡车司机、运输经纪人以及援助和人道主义官员的说法，该帮派是最强大的组织。

His men are heavily armed with new weapons, and profit chiefly from smuggled cigarettes, according to the internal UN memo, which was first reported by The Washington Post. One crate of cigarettes sells for $400,000, according to Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce, up from a couple of thousand dollars before the war.
根据内部联合国备忘录（《华盛顿邮报》首次报道），他的手下装备精良，配备新武器，主要通过走私香烟获利。根据加沙商会的数据，一箱香烟的售价为 40 万美元，而在战争之前仅为几千美元。

UN officials and Palestinian witnesses said Israel’s permissive attitude towards the gangs was part of a pattern of fuelling competing forces to undermine local authorities.
联合国官员和巴勒斯坦目击者表示，以色列对帮派的宽容态度是助长竞争势力以削弱地方当局的一种模式。

The rise of the gangs has caused fissures in Gaza’s society, with clans rushing to distance themselves from members caught up in the looting. Keen to deflect anger, some clans have issued public statements obliquely disowning anyone involved in theft. Some have even formed counter-looting committees to guard trucks.
帮派的崛起在加沙社会中造成了裂痕，各个家族急于与卷入抢劫的成员保持距离。为了转移愤怒，一些家族发布了公开声明，含蓄地否认与任何参与盗窃的人有关联。有些家族甚至成立了反抢劫委员会，以保护卡车。

On Tuesday, the day after the ambush, leaders of the Abu Shabab clan penned an open letter “disavowing” relatives involved in looting.
周二，在伏击事件发生后的第二天，阿布·沙巴布部落的领导人发表了一封公开信，"否认"与抢劫有关的亲属。

While Israel claims Hamas is responsible, the thefts have put the armed groups at odds with the militant group. Shohaybr, the transport industry leader, said Israel knew full well what was happening.
尽管以色列声称哈马斯应对此负责，但这些盗窃事件使武装团体与该激进组织发生了冲突。运输行业领袖肖哈伊布尔表示，以色列完全清楚发生了什么。

“[Israel] is surveilling us all the time,” he said. “If they wanted to, they could call up Yasser Abu Shabab right now and tell him: don’t you dare steal another truck, or we’ll shoot you. But they don’t, and why do you think that is?” 
“[以色列]一直在监视我们，”他说。“如果他们想的话，现在就可以打电话给雅瑟尔·阿布·沙巴布，告诉他：别再偷另一辆卡车，否则我们就会开枪。但他们没有，你觉得这是为什么？”

Aid deliveries chart by Aditi Bhandari
援助交付图表 由阿迪提·班达里提供

Sources for animated map: UN source, FT research, Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project
动画地图来源：联合国来源，金融时报研究，战争研究所和美国企业研究所的关键威胁项目