During the month of April, a series of bank robberies took place in the Gaza Strip, leaving the community in shock. These heists were carried out by Palestinian armed groups, with one of them pretending to be Hamas. According to a report from French newspaper Le Monde, around 66 million euros were stolen during these incidents.
On April 16th, employees at the main branch of Bank of Palestine in Gaza City discovered a hole in the ceiling of one of their rooms. Unidentified individuals had entered the bank earlier that day and stolen safes containing approximately 2.8 million euros in shekels. The following day, they returned and blew up three safes, obtaining about 29 million euros. Just two days later, their total loot amounted to 33.6 million euros. Despite the large sums of money stolen, the perpetrators were able to evade capture and disappear without a trace.
The authorities are currently investigating these incidents but as of now no arrests have been made in connection with the bank robberies. The people of Gaza are left shocked by these brazen acts and the scale of thefts that took place in their community. It is likely that these crimes will have long-lasting impacts on Gaza’s economy and its citizens’ livelihoods.
It is worth noting that this is not an isolated incident; there have been multiple reports of robberies targeting banks and other financial institutions in Gaza over the past few years.
Overall, it is clear that this series of bank robberies has left a significant impact on Gaza’s economy and its people’s lives.
In conclusion, while this crime spree may be over for now, it highlights an ongoing issue that continues to plague Gaza: organized crime and lack of security measures put in place by authorities to protect citizens’ assets and businesses from such criminal activities.
