Challenges for Humanitarian Aid Convoys in Gaza
A new challenge has emerged for humanitarian aid convoys striving to deliver essential relief to the hungry population in Gaza. The issue at hand is the organized attacks by groups targeting the cigarettes smuggled inside aid shipments, rather than the intended supplies of flour and medicine.
In the besieged Gaza Strip, cigarettes have become increasingly scarce, leading to exorbitant prices of $25 to $30 per cigarette. Both U.N. and Israeli officials have raised concerns about the coordinated attacks by these groups, as they hinder the much-needed assistance reaching the southern regions of Gaza.
Despite the stringent monitoring at Israeli-administered checkpoints controlling the movement of goods in and out of Gaza, smugglers have successfully infiltrated aid trucks with cigarettes for several weeks. The primary entry point for these contraband cigarettes has been the Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza.
To circumvent Israeli inspections, smugglers from Egypt have resorted to concealing cigarettes in various ways, such as inside sacks of United Nations-donated flour, diapers, and even a watermelon. This tactic, revealed by aid agencies and an Israeli military official who shared photos with The New York Times, has enabled the illicit cigarettes to pass through undetected.
Following the entry of these aid trucks into Gaza, they have been targeted by crowds of Palestinians, some of whom are armed, intent on seizing the hidden cigarettes. This alarming situation, confirmed by Andrea De Domenico, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Jerusalem, has introduced a new challenge of organized attacks on aid convoys.
