DUBAI, December 1. /TASS/. The Israeli authorities are allowing tens of thousands of iPhones into Gaza after months of blocking food, medicine and other basic supplies, the Emirati newspaper The National reports.
"As families sleep in tents, food stocks fall short, and Israel shuts out building materials needed to rebuild Gaza, the iPhone 17 Pro Max - the world's most modern and expensive smartphone - is a surreal sight," the paper notes.
However, a phone shop owner in the Nuseirat refugee camp told The National that "the demand is unbelievable." According to him, "every shipment that enters Gaza contains more than 10,000 phones, sometimes more, and dozens of shipments have arrived." The shop owner added that he saw customers lining up for the devices, on sale for $2,200. The man went on to say that the majority of buyers were social activists, entrepreneurs, employees of international organizations, and those people who gained financially during the war.
The newspaper points out that many Gazans are wondering why it’s phones that are being delivered to the enclave, and not food or construction materials. Journalist and researcher Hamza Al Shobaki says that the sudden entry of mobile phones into Gaza could serve to expand Israeli intelligence operations, track resistance members and community leaders or monitor civilian communications.
Israel suspended international humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza between March and late July. All checkpoints were closed, and food distribution was carried out through a system of points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF). Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said earlier that the GHF could not be considered a humanitarian mission as it was used as a tool to intimidate and suppress civilians.