At a price of around $25 per cigarette, Gaza's smoking population is desperate for cigarettes. Prices for packs these days range between 1,600 to 2,000 shekels. Shortly after the October 7 massacre, while it allowed and transferred humanitarian aid, Israel banned the entry of "commodities" into Gaza.
As a result, cigarette and tobacco prices soared. Last month, Palestinians reported that for the first time since October 7, large quantities of cigarettes entered the Deir al-Balah markets through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
However, due to the taxes imposed by Hamas, Gazans have returned to seeking alternative ways to obtain tobacco products which have all been subjected to overpricing. The average Gazan cannot afford to buy a whole pack of cigarettes. According to pre-war data, about a quarter million Gazans smoked, and many have said that they were forced to quit smoking or significantly reduce their cigarette consumption.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Palestinians smuggled cigarettes for many months through the Rafah crossing but since the IDF seized control of the Egyptian border and smuggling there was halted.
According to the report, criminal attacks on aid convoys have become so severe that over a thousand truckloads of aid have been left sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel. Even UN storage facilities have become targets for Palestinian smugglers searching for cigarettes in humanitarian shipments because of the potential profit.
A UN official described cigarettes as "Gaza's new gold," with cigarettes being smuggled through every means possible. Recently, Israelis found cigarettes smuggled between aid shipments or on the truck drivers themselves. At times, Israel succeeds in thwarting creative smuggling attempts, such as cigarettes smuggled inside hollow watermelons or inside "essential" humanitarian aid products.
A Palestinian official explained that Israel was unable to thwart all smuggling: "They carry out thorough checks on a few random shipments, but are unable to check every package, box or carton."
Aid organizations claim that there are other challenges, besides cigarette smuggling, that are delaying aid distribution efforts to Gazans. They claim that Israel is placing restrictions on the flow of aid due to the extensive fighting and destruction in Gaza. Israel has clarified that it does not restrict the entry of aid.