Gaza Faces Shortages as Commercial Goods Imports Halt Amid Tax Dispute

No commercial goods have entered the Gaza Strip for two days, according to Israeli authorities, who attribute the suspension to merchants angered by taxes imposed by Hamas. Palestinian importers deny this assertion.

The halt to commercial shipments, which includes essential items like fruit and winter clothing, threatens to exacerbate existing shortages in the territory, which relies entirely on goods imported through Israeli-controlled border crossings.

Aid groups typically supply staple foods such as flour, while merchants import perishable items like fruits and meat, according to data from COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing humanitarian affairs in Gaza. Humanitarian workers emphasize the need for both aid and a functioning commercial market to maintain affordable prices.

"The humanitarian sector on its own cannot meet the needs of all the people," said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. "The markets need to be functioning."

COGAT announced the suspension of commercial shipments on Wednesday. Lt. Daniel Kantorovich, a deputy spokesperson for COGAT, stated that the agency was acting on a decision made by Palestinian merchants the previous day and could reverse it if the merchants wished. "We were prepared to coordinate the entry of their trucks as usual, but the vendors informed us that they were cancelling the coordination due to Hamas’s taxation mechanism and threats against them," Kantorovich said. "The merchants don’t want to bring goods into Gaza."

Previous reports indicated that while conditions in Gaza had improved since a famine was declared in August 2025, they remained at crisis levels. A significant number of families were not getting enough to eat, and "even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains."

Merchants in Gaza coordinate directly with vendors outside the territory, whose shipments are inspected by Israel before entering Gaza. COGAT's announcement claimed that local merchants were protesting Hamas's taxation and threats. Israel has long accused Hamas of levying fees on imports to fund its operations.

However, Nahed Sheheiber, the head of Gaza’s private truckers union, disputed Israel's account. "The merchants are not the ones who stopped the shipments," he stated. "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."

Following COGAT's announcement, Sheheiber's union met with Gaza's Ministry of Economy. They expressed concern that Israel was using fees levied by the ministry as a pretext to cut off commercial goods. Sheheiber said the ministry had been asking merchants to pay 10,000 shekels (approximately $3,226) per truck. Khaled Al-Raqab, undersecretary at the ministry, reportedly told the union that the amount was not a tax but a donation sought to help pay civil servants.

It remains unclear whether aid agencies will be permitted to increase shipments to compensate for the loss of commercial goods. COGAT estimates that Gaza's approximately 2 million residents require about 250 truckloads of goods daily, a figure significantly lower than the minimum of 600 trucks per day stipulated by a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. a year ago.

The conflict began when Hamas-led militants killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's response included a widespread bombardment and ground invasion that has resulted in more than 74,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is generally considered reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. The toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians but states that women and children constitute about half of the deceased.