Gaza Aid for Sale, Insufficient for Daily Needs

A side of Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid waiting near the Rafah crossing (AFP)
A side of Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid waiting near the Rafah crossing (AFP)
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Gaza Aid for Sale, Insufficient for Daily Needs

A side of Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid waiting near the Rafah crossing (AFP)
A side of Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid waiting near the Rafah crossing (AFP)

Amid hurdles blocking enough humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza and with the UN recognizing the difficulties in distributing relief amid over six months of continuous conflict, Gazans struggle to get their daily food needs met.

Residents of Gaza are also increasingly concerned about illicit trafficking of aid.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began on Oct. 7, residents have faced food shortages. Israel shut down commercial crossings and enforced a blockade.

Entry of aid through the Rafah border crossing is also restricted, leaving trucks waiting on the Egyptian side.

To ease the plight of Gazans, some countries are resorting to airlifting aid, while others are trying to use a maritime route from Cyprus to Gaza.

However, some Gazans keep complaining about aid mismanagement, with reports of aid turning into commodities sold at high prices in markets.

Videos shared on social media show examples of “aid items being sold in markets at inflated rates.”

One video features a person claiming to have bought a tent from aid supplies for around 3,000 shekels, roughly $800.

Another Gazan, Mahmoud Al-Halabi, also alleges aid is seized and sold on the black market.

Gaza-based activist Khalid Safi, now in Türkiye, blames the Israeli occupation for soaring prices and shortages.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Safi asserted that the aid entering Gaza is far too little, meeting just a fraction of daily needs.

Safi mentions that UNRWA and the Palestinian Red Crescent used to distribute aid based on records, but some citizens sell what they receive to buy other essentials.

According to Safi, families may trade flour for cleaning supplies, clothes, or other essentials.

He explained that sometimes citizens sell directly to each other, or to traders who buy aid items cheaply and then sell them for higher prices in markets.

Media reports from Israel and the West have mentioned “smuggling of Gaza aid and its sale on the black market.”

They noted a growing black market for relief items as more desperate people struggle to get food.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.