JERUSALEM — For at least a month, Israeli authorities have allowed commercial traders to import some Gaza dual-use goods into Gaza while humanitarian organizations say they are blocked from bringing in the same items. Aid officials say the split is worsening shortages of shelter and electricity, but Israel’s COGAT denies giving preferential treatment, Jan. 1, 2026.
COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry unit that controls civilian access to Gaza, denied giving preferential treatment to private-sector shipments and said dual-use screening is applied uniformly to prevent diversion for militant use.
The Guardian reported that businesses have been able to move items such as generators, tent poles and metal pallets through Israeli-controlled checkpoints while aid groups say their requests for the same goods are refused or stalled.
Gaza dual-use approvals: traders vs. aid agencies
Israel’s dual-use list covers items it says could be repurposed for military ends. Aid logisticians say the category also captures equipment needed for daily survival as Gaza’s basic services struggle.
Generators and power equipment
Metal parts for tents and shelters
Solar and electrical components
Sam Rose, acting director for Gaza at the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees, known as UNRWA, told the Guardian that private sales have become a workaround: “The only way to get a generator right now is on the private sector.” Aid groups say that turns many Gaza dual-use items into scarce, high-priced commodities.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Israel authorized certain dual-use items to enter through Kerem Shalom on limited days, with no improvement in approval rates. Details were included in OCHA’s first-month ceasefire response report.
The dispute is unfolding as Israel tightens oversight of relief groups. Israel has suspended or moved to suspend dozens of humanitarian organizations from operating in Gaza under new registration requirements, according to an Associated Press report.
COGAT, in an August 2025 briefing responding to an IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) food security assessment, said there is “no quantitative restriction” on U.N. aid and cited expanded coordination with the private sector. The briefing is posted as COGAT’s humanitarian efforts response.
Long-running fight over Gaza dual-use rules
The Gaza dual-use argument predates the current war. During postwar rebuilding after the 2014 Gaza conflict, a 2014 Guardian report described disputes over classifying cement, steel and other construction materials as dual-use and placing them under a monitoring regime tied to reconstruction.
A 2017 Brookings analysis said reconstruction approvals created layers of inspection for dual-use materials, giving Israeli authorities a decisive role over many imports. See Brookings’ reconstruction review.
In a January 2024 Reuters report, aid officials and medics described disputes over whether tent poles, water purifiers and some medical equipment were being blocked under dual-use inspections, while COGAT denied that humanitarian essentials were being refused.
Aid groups say the immediate question now is whether Gaza dual-use policies are being applied consistently between commercial and humanitarian channels — and whether clearer, published criteria could reduce costly delays.
