Israel has cut off the shipment of commercial goods from Israel into the Gaza Strip, tightening the siege of the besieged Palestinian territory, as its forces continue daily attacks in violation of the US-backed ceasefire deal.
According to a report from The Associated Press, the Israeli military’s occupation authority, COGAT, announced on Thursday that commercial goods haven’t entered Gaza for two days and framed the decision to cut off the shipments as being done in cooperation with Gaza merchants due to a tax dispute with Hamas and threats from Hamas, but Palestinians involved in importing goods into the Strip have denied the Israeli claim.
“The merchants are not the ones who stopped the shipments,” Nahed Sheheiber, the head of Gaza’s private truckers union, told AP. “The Israeli coordinator is claiming that Gaza’s merchants are responsible, but the truth is that the Israelis are the ones who imposed the restrictions.”
Sheheiber said that Gaza’s Economy Ministry has been asking merchants to pay 10,000 shekels (about $3,226) per truck entering. His union met with ministry officials to say Israel used the fee as a pretext to cut off shipments, while ministry officials said it wasn’t a tax but a voluntary donation to help pay civil workers.
In a statement, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that it rejects “any attempt to hold [the Gaza government] responsible for the reduction in truck entry, as the continuation of these restrictions exacerbates the humanitarian and economic crisis and hinders the provision of food, medicine, and shelter.” It said that the government’s “efforts to regulate markets, combat monopolies, and protect citizens from exploitation are fundamental national and legal responsibilities to preserve the lifeblood of the economy.”
Shhaibar told Reuters that while humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, no commercial goods entered from Israel, though some did enter via Egypt through an Israeli-controlled crossing. The halt to most commercial shipments cuts off a vital food supply and comes as Palestinians are still facing hunger and shortages of other vital goods more than one year after the signing of the so-called ceasefire deal.
Under the deal, Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza each day, but Shhaibar said that the number has been closer to 300 trucks, with two-thirds carrying commercial goods.
Amid the dispute over the commercial goods, the IDF continues strikes and attacks across Gaza. The Health Ministry said in its daily update on Thursday that over the past 24 hours, the IDF killed at least four Palestinians and wounded nine, bringing the post-ceasefire deal death toll up to 1,505 and the number of wounded in that time to 5,332.
