The billions Hamas continues to rake in from the aid entering Gaza in quantities

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories revealed that private traders in Gaza have stopped coordinating the entry of aid trucks due to Hamas's financial extortion. By one estimate, Hamas may take in about 13 million shekels a day from some 175 trucks from the private sector — about 400 million a month. This comes as the organisation refuses to disarm, about a year after the ceasefire agreement.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) today (Wednesday) exposed a financial extortion mechanism that Hamas operates against private traders in Gaza, who are responsible for about 50% of the aid trucks entering the Strip. The traders announced they were halting coordination for bringing in trucks following financial demands by Hamas, including a new demand for a payment of 10,000 shekels for each truck, alongside the arrest of one trader's son. According to the data, some 300 to 400 aid trucks enter daily, including about 600 pallets. Hamas demanded that the traders sell at least 30% of the goods for cash. According to an estimate based on an assumed average income of 75,000 shekels per truck and about 175 trucks a day from the private sector, Hamas may take in about 13 million shekels a day, about 400 million a month and about 4.8 billion a year. The political commentator Tamir Morag noted that the orders of magnitude were confirmed in a check with professionals. The article notes that Hamas refuses to disarm about a year after the ceasefire agreement took effect, and asks whether the time has come for Israel to change the terms of the deal.