Israel cites merchants angered by Hamas taxes as commercial goods stop entering Gaza

Israel's defense ministry agency for civilian affairs, Cogat, informed international officials that commercial goods deliveries into Gaza have been suspended by private merchants. Cogat reported that merchants halted coordination for the entry of goods because of coercion by Hamas, which allegedly demanded approximately 10,000 shekels (US$3,200) for every truck entering the territory.

The agency also noted that traders sell about 30% of goods in cash rather than through bank transfers and cited reports that Hamas security personnel arrested the son of a merchant who refused to comply.

Hamas has rejected these accusations, denying that it imposes taxes or government fees on commercial trucks. While the head of a private truckers union disputed the Israeli account, the individual admitted that Hamas is seeking NIS 10,000 per truck entering the Strip. Hamas maintains that this is a voluntary community initiative rather than taxation.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Times of Israel, Free Malaysia Today — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.