IDF Airdrops Cigarettes to Gaza

Smoking is bad, but Hamas is worse: IDF airdrops cigarettes over Khan Yunis, Gaza

With cigarette prices at an all-time high in the Gaza Strip, the IDF has used the opportunity to incentivize disdain and distrust in Hamas among the residents of Gaza.

The IDF dropped cigarettes from the sky over the coastal area of Khan Yunis of the Gaza Strip on Thursday along with messages warning locals against the dangers Hamas, N12 reported on Friday.

While the IDF has been known to drop leaflets consistently before striking, requesting that the public evacuate the area immediately for their own safety, some have been used to offer rewards for Hamas leaders. 

Unlike the previous leaflets, the ones dropped on Thursday by the IDF did not request that the Gazans evacuate or give up information, N12 noted. Instead, the residents were gifted with cigarettes. 

Attached to the cigarette, various leaflets read, "Smoking is dangerous, but Hamas is more dangerous," and "Hamas is burning Gaza." Adjacent to the inscription, the IDF added a contact number to the 'Influence Department' for more information. 

An additional leaflet offered an unspecified gift for every Gazan who collected five leaflets. 

Illustrative: Palestinians smoke cigarettes as they work inside a smuggling tunnel dug beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip, November 26, 2012 (credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)

Since the beginning of the war, Hamas has taken full control over the supply and demand in Gaza, raising prices of produce, humanitarian aid, and cigarettes, sometimes by alarming numbers. 

Hamas has stolen aid, produce, and cigarettes only to resell it all at exorbitant prices.

The current price of a single cigarette in the Gaza Strip is 27 USD, while packets are sold at 430 USD, N12 noted. This 'tax' has helped Hamas continue to fund its own survival throughout the war at the great expense of the Gazan residents. 

A security official who spoke with N12 stated that the distribution of cigarettes with the announced messages was intended to convey a message against Hamas, which is unable to control governance in the strip.

According to the official, the intention was to promote defiance and condemnation of the terrorist organization and its lack of ability to create public order. "It is important to emphasize that cigarettes do not enter the strip and that this is a one-time occurrence," he expressed. 

The alarming prices of cigarettes, inflated by Hamas, have caused a major crisis in the Gaza Strip, causing the residents to resort to solutions such as smuggling and alternative options in order to obtain the product.