A New Challenge for Humanitarian Aid Convoys in Gaza

A new issue has arisen for humanitarian aid convoys attempting to deliver relief to starving Gazans: attacks by organized groups not after the vital supplies on the trucks, but rather the smuggled cigarettes hidden within the shipments.

In the heavily blockaded Gaza Strip, cigarettes have become increasingly rare, with prices soaring to $25 to $30 per cigarette. The United Nations and Israeli officials have expressed concerns over the coordinated attacks by groups aiming to profit from selling smuggled cigarettes, which is hindering the delivery of much-needed assistance to southern Gaza.

Despite stringent inspections at Israeli-administered checkpoints on all goods entering Gaza, the cigarettes have still managed to pass through inside aid trucks, mostly through the Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza.

To evade Israeli scrutiny, smugglers in Egypt have resorted to concealing the cigarettes within sacks of United Nations-donated flour, diapers, and even a watermelon, as revealed by aid agencies and an Israeli military official who shared images with The New York Times.

Upon reaching Gaza, the aid trucks have been targeted by Palestinian crowds, some armed, intent on seizing the hidden cigarettes, as reported by U.N. and Israeli officials.

Andrea De Domenico, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Jerusalem, confirmed the presence of cartons labeled with U.N. branding containing cigarettes. He highlighted that the contraband cigarettes have led to a “new dynamic” of organized assaults on aid convoys.