Private-sector traders have suspended coordination for truck shipments into Gaza, citing what Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) described as threats and financial demands by Hamas, which the U.S. State Department has designated a foreign terrorist organization.
Traders in the Gaza Strip also told MBN that they had faced financial demands from entities affiliated with the Hamas-run government in exchange for allowing goods to enter the territory or securing their release. They said refusing to pay could result in merchandise being impounded or businesses being prevented from operating in a market already struggling with shortages and the high cost of bringing in supplies.
Nikolay Mladenov, the senior representative for Gaza affairs at the Board of Peace, in a post on X.com on Thursday warned against intimidating traders and interfering with supply lines into Gaza. He called for the rapid deployment of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, backed by an International Stabilization Force, to protect civilians, humanitarian aid and commercial activity from coercion, exploitation and interference.
Mladenov’s statement followed a message he said he received from COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating civilian and humanitarian affairs in Gaza, indicating that coordination for the entry of private-sector shipments into the territory had been suspended amid reports of coercive practices targeting traders by Hamas, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization.
In his post, Mladenov said the practices, according to the reports he had received, were unacceptable and must stop immediately. He warned that interference with the supply of goods was adding to the hardships Gaza’s population faced.
The standoff threatens commercial supplies to a population that mostly depends on aid after three years of war, repeated displacement and stringent Israeli restrictions on the delivery of assistance. It also puts Hamas squarely in the path of the Board of Peace’s call for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force to protect Gaza’s supply lines.
COGAT said it had received reports from traders being asked to pay about 10,000 shekels ($3,220) for each truck entering Gaza, in addition to being required to sell 30 percent of their goods in cash. Traders who refused, COGAT said, could face measures by security agencies affiliated with Hamas. It added that traders had decided to suspend coordination for truck deliveries in response to these demands.
The media office of the Hamas-run government, however, claimed that the 10,000 shekels mentioned by the Israeli coordinator were part of a “voluntary community initiative” involving businesspeople, prominent individuals, organizations and companies operating in Gaza.
COGAT said the practices were obstructing the flow of goods into the territory and that it had sent a letter to United Nations officials and the Board of Peace urging them to intervene.
A trader in central Gaza told MBN, requesting anonymity for fear of retaliation, that personnel from the Hamas-run government’s Economy Ministry regularly inspected warehouses and shops, sometimes accompanied by armed men. He said traders faced financial demands that were never explained to them, adding that the costs were being passed on to consumers through higher prices amid shortages and the import costs.
Hamas’ income has fallen sharply since the war in Gaza began, so the demands have become a source of revenue, traders say. Complaints have also continued over practices including the impounding of goods, the confiscation of some merchandise and the destruction of other items.
In August 2026, Gaza’s Chambers of Commerce and private-sector organizations said restrictions on trade and mechanisms for bringing in trucks had imposed a heavy financial burden. They said payments they described as “illegal coordination fees” had exceeded $2.06 billion from the start of the war in October 2023 through July 26, 2026.
Traders’ complaints extend beyond financial demands linked to truck deliveries. In previous statements to MBN, currency exchange shop owners said Hamas-affiliated officials had imposed restrictions on certain transactions during the war and that exchange offices linked to the movement had charged high commissions on international money transfers.
Interviews conducted by MBN and data reviewed by the outlet revealed how Gaza had shifted over three years from a severe shortage of cash toward an economy increasingly dependent on electronic transfers. Yet some groups, including employees of the Hamas-run government, still need physical cash to pay salaries and cover everyday expenses.
Private-sector truck coordination remains suspended until further notice, COGAT said, while humanitarian aid shipments continue in cooperation with the United Nations and international organizations.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
