Israel has approved the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying sweets, soft drinks, and energy drinks into the Gaza Strip in the run-up to Ramadan, according to a Walla News report published Sunday. The move was authorized through the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Walla reported, citing business sources and people familiar with the decision.
Four months after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza, Israel has continued to allow around 700 humanitarian aid trucks a day to enter the enclave with food, shelter supplies, and medical equipment, Walla reported. COGAT has publicly cited a daily range of 600 to 800 trucks since the ceasefire began, according to a December statement carried by The Jerusalem Post.
According to Walla, the approval came at the request of US officials and in connection with Ramadan, allowing the transfer of sweets and sweetened, carbonated drinks into Gaza. “Bread and flour, yes, of course,” a food-sector businessman told Walla, “but candy and chocolates, have we lost our minds?”
The businessman said traders, Arab and Jewish, were seeking premium items such as XL and Red Bull energy drinks, Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Bueno, and candy. “Money blinds even the wise,” he added, claiming that “people are making millions here.”
Importers and wholesalers have been clearing out warehouses at full price, including purchasing stock that expires within weeks without a discount. The source warned that this could push up prices in Israel, especially ahead of Purim, when candy consumption typically spikes.
A source familiar with the details told Walla that COGAT lifted a restriction on bringing sweets into Gaza about two weeks ago, and that Israel agreed to the move “at Trump’s request” in the context of Ramadan. The source said that previously, only Turkish suppliers had been approved to send confectionery, while now much of it is coming via Israeli traders.
How the aid mechanism works, and why the debate is intensifying
According to Walla, about 700 trucks enter Gaza daily, and the goods are then transferred to licensed merchants inside the Strip, who sell them locally. In recent weeks, COGAT has pushed back against international claims about food insecurity in Gaza, emphasizing the volume and composition of aid entering the Strip, as reported by the Post.
Walla argued that the scale of nonessential shipments has a direct impact on Israel’s cost of living by emptying warehouses and tightening local supply ahead of peak seasonal demand. The question of how many trucks are needed has also become a point of dispute within Israel, with IDF sources recommending a major reduction in daily truck volumes in a later phase of the ceasefire framework, according to a January report.
Israel has previously signaled it could curb aid flows amid ceasefire disputes, including after alleged violations by Hamas in October 2025.
Customs regulations and “approved suppliers”
A shift toward routing humanitarian supply purchases through the private sector began on December 8, when new customs administration regulations took effect. Under the regulations described by Walla, purchases of goods defined as aid must be carried out through a limited pool of Israeli firms designated as “approved suppliers,” making the chain more centralized and supervised.
The report said the eligibility thresholds effectively limited participation to large companies. Walla cited criteria it said were set by the Israel Tax Authority, including annual turnover requirements of NIS 344 million for a “large supplier” or NIS 286 million for a “large retailer” operating at least three stores or an online store, along with computerized bookkeeping.
Among the companies Walla named as holding the status were Victory, Carrefour (owned by Global Retail), Mehadrin, and the Newman Group. Walla said that this designation makes them a necessary intermediary because goods defined as aid must pass through them on the way to Gaza.
The model is based on fees charged for the service: around NIS 10,000 for oversight and inspection of each truck, plus a brokerage commission of about 5% of the shipment value, estimated at roughly NIS 5,000 on average. That totals around NIS 15,000 per truck, Walla said, adding that “approved suppliers” are meant to serve as a logistical conduit and are not supposed to be involved in the trade itself.
In response, COGAT told Walla that “the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip is carried out in accordance with the directives and policy of the political echelon” and under oversight mechanisms “to prevent terrorist elements from infiltrating the aid entry mechanism.”