Commercial Goods Halt at Gaza Crossings Over Tax Dispute — SkimNews
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- COGAT announced on October 14, 2026 that no commercial goods had entered Gaza for two days, citing Palestinian merchants who cancelled coordination over "Hamas's taxation mechanism and threats against them."
- Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza's private truckers union, rejected Israel's account, saying "the merchants are not the ones who stopped the shipments" and "the Israelis are the ones who imposed the restrictions."
- Gaza's Ministry of Economy had been seeking 10,000 shekels (~$3,226) per truck from importers; Undersecretary Khaled Al-Raqab told the union the sum was a voluntary "donation" to help pay civil servants, not a tax.
- COGAT said Gaza's roughly 2 million residents require approximately 250 truckloads of goods each day—far below the 600-truck minimum stipulated by the US-brokered ceasefire a year ago.
- Norwegian Refugee Council spokesperson Shaina Low warned that "the humanitarian sector on its own cannot meet the needs of all the people" and that "the markets need to be functioning" to keep prices under control ahead of winter.
- Earlier in 2026, the world's leading food insecurity authority reported Gaza conditions had improved since famine was declared in August 2025 but remained at "crisis levels," cautioning that "even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains."
Why it matters: Gaza's 2 million residents already receive roughly 250 truckloads a day—well below the 600-truck minimum set by last year's US-brokered ceasefire—and the halt cuts off perishables like fruit and meat that aid groups don't bring. With winter approaching and famine conditions only recently eased, even a brief loss of commercial supply threatens to undo those fragile gains.
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