A dramatic wave of unrest is sweeping across Gaza as thousands of desperate residents have broken through Hamas-controlled barriers and looted warehouses filled with flour—some under UN supervision, others stockpiled by Hamas itself. The unrest, dubbed by locals as “The Flour Flood,” marks a breaking point in public fear and silence.

It began when Gazan civilians stormed a Hamas warehouse that had hoarded wheat, carrying off the stolen goods while guards opened fire. Video footage from the scene shows thousands being shot at by Hamas operatives as chaos unfolded. Another warehouse was looted by evening—this one belonging to the World Food Organization, held under Hamas protection in the Al-Zawiya area.

Eyewitnesses describe violence, beatings, and even pigs and farmers scrambling over each other for flour sacks, now being resold at up to 1,000 NIS apiece. For two months, the UN made no distributions from its full warehouses, a move critics claim was meant to falsely accuse Israel of creating famine and "genocide" conditions.