Prices soar as Gaza smuggling booms. Officials, soldiers and middlemen are accused of cashing in
- Palestinians are facing inflated prices for basic goods due to increased smuggling activities.
- Israeli soldiers and middlemen are accused of profiting from the smuggling of restricted goods into Gaza.
- The smuggling trade includes a variety of items, from cigarettes to medical supplies, circumventing Israeli restrictions.
- An investigation revealed that smuggling rings have generated millions of dollars amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
- The Israeli military stated it takes smuggling seriously and works to prevent it.
CAIRO (AP) — Palestinians face inflated prices for groceries and batteries, hospitals have turned to smugglers for medicine and equipment, Israeli soldiers and other middlemen are accused of pocketing millions of dollars, and the Hamas-led government takes a cut as the smuggling of goods restricted by Israel into the Gaza Strip has boomed, according to an Associated Press investigation based on court documents and interviews with traders, truckers and officials.
Cigarettes and tobacco — banned from entry to Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 — rake in the biggest profits for smugglers and merchants, officials and residents say. But everything from iPhones and solar panels to fuel and anesthetics are also brought into the tiny coastal territory illegally.
Israel restricts quantities of some goods and bans others outright. It defines many as “dual use” — including concrete, vehicle parts and X-ray machines — asserting they could be repurposed by Hamas militants for military functions. To build a picture of the illicit trade, The Associated Press analyzed Israeli court documents and spoke to five major traders who import smuggled goods, three merchants who sell them, and two truckers — all on condition of anonymity because of their roles in the illegal smuggling business and concerns about their safety in Gaza.
AP found a rush from all sides to profit off the tight restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza and its 2 million residents, most of whom have been displaced by the war. Smuggling rings — which have long flourished, circumventing two decades of Israeli blockades and building a network of businessmen and collaborators — pull in millions of dollars.
加沙走私猖獗，物价飙升。官员、士兵和中间人被指控从中获利
开罗（美联社）——巴勒斯坦人面临食品和电池价格上涨，医院已转向走私者寻求药品和设备，士兵和其他中间人被指控从走私中获利数百万美元，而哈马斯领导的政府也从中抽取利润，走私受以色列限制的商品进入加沙地带的现象已急剧增加，这一切均来自美联社基于法庭文件和与商人、卡车司机及官员的访谈的调查。
官员和居民表示，自2023年10月以色列-哈马斯战争开始以来，香烟和烟草——被禁止进入加沙——为走私者和商人带来了最大的利润。但从iPhone和太阳能电池板到燃料和麻醉剂等各种商品也被非法带入这个狭小的沿海地区。
以色列限制某些商品的数量，并完全禁止其他商品。它将许多商品定义为“双重用途”——包括混凝土、车辆零件和X光机——声称这些商品可能被哈马斯武装分子用于军事目的。为了描绘这一非法贸易的全貌，美联社分析了以色列的法庭文件，并与五名进口走私商品的主要商人、三名销售商和两名卡车司机进行了交谈——所有人均要求匿名，因其在非法走私业务中的角色及对在加沙的安全担忧。
美联社发现，各方急于从以色列对加沙及其200万居民施加的严格限制中获利，其中大多数居民因战争而流离失所。走私网络——长期以来蓬勃发展，绕过了长达二十年的以色列封锁，建立了商人和合作者的网络——正在赚取数百万美元。