From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 16, 2026
Israel foils attempt to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of tobacco into Gaza Strip
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Defense Ministry says it foiled an “unusual” attempt to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of tobacco into the Gaza Strip earlier today.
The tobacco was hidden inside cans of vine leaves that were being imported into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the ministry says.
Members of the ministry’s Crossing Points Authority and the Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza located the contraband during a routine inspection of the goods at the crossing.
According to the ministry, the truck was carrying a shipment of food purchased by an Israeli company that had been approved under a mechanism for the entry of aid by the private sector.
Tobacco hidden inside a can of vine leaves that was caught during a smuggling attempt at the Kerem Shalom Crossing with the Gaza Strip, February 16, 2026. (COGAT)
“Following the smuggling attempt, the truck and all of its contents were confiscated and transferred for further handling by customs and other authorities,” the ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says.
COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy also ordered “the immediate suspension of the company’s approval to bring aid into the Gaza Strip until further notice.”
“The decision was made in light of the severity of the case and in order to preserve the integrity of the aid entry mechanism, while preventing its exploitation for prohibited purposes,” COGAT adds.
Israel has banned the entry of cigarettes and other tobacco products into Gaza during the war, with officials saying that such products, when smuggled illegally, are sold for high prices on the black market and heavily taxed by Hamas.
The Times of Israel Community.