After Israel killed 71,000 Palestinians during the genocide and destroyed 99% of Gaza neighbourhoods, it's now allegedly citing “health concerns” over smoking as a reason to block cigarettes from entering the Strip.
Israeli officials claim cigarettes are not humanitarian aid because they are “harmful to health,” turning a blind eye to the deadly conditions, such as bombing, starvation, disease, and lack of medicine.
Critics say the real motive is economic and political, as Israel fears tobacco sales could generate revenue for Hamas. The ban has caused cigarette prices in Gaza to skyrocket, with single cigarettes reaching $15 and packs costing $300.
According to Nahum Barnea, a columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth, the “coordinator of operations in the territories,” who decides what goods enter Gaza, has ruled that cigarettes are not humanitarian items because they are “harmful to health.” Barnea sarcastically noted that this wave of “humanitarian concern” almost moved him to tears.
