Commercial goods are no longer entering Gaza, raising fears of worsening shortages in the territory
No commercial goods are entering the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities said, attributing the suspension to local vendors they said are fed up with Hamas raising taxes on them. The Israeli military body overseeing humanitarian affairs in Gaza said on Thursday that local vendors in Gaza asked them to stop coordinating imports because they were fed up with Hamas raising taxes on them. The head of Gaza’s private truckers union disputed that account, saying Israel had made the decision. The move stands to immediately reduce Gaza’s supplies, because the closed-off territory is completely reliant on whatever goods Israel allows in through border crossings.
