The end of the war with Iran and the summer holiday are expected to cool food purchases in Israel, but the food industry has found a new growth channel: selling into Gaza. After the ceasefire in the Strip came with a commitment to allow hundreds of truckloads of food and supplies in each day, Israeli companies have already added hundreds of millions of shekels in sales, while many prefer to keep those deals out of public view because of reputational concerns and fears that Hamas is reestablishing itself.
The Securities Authority forced the Victory supermarket chain, controlled by the Ravid family and run by Eyal Ravid, to disclose that it sold about 100 million shekels of goods to Gaza traders in one month. Victory had previously attributed the jump to Passover and the war with Iran without naming the main reason. Another chain, Shivat HaShikma, said through co-CEO Yafit Atiyas, "We obtained a license, but did not use it and did not sell goods to Gaza while the State of Israel is at war." A review by Calcalist found about 30 companies licensed to supply Gaza, including Mehadrin, which sold about 60 million shekels in the first quarter.
The list also includes Carrefour, Super Sapir, Half and Half, Mayan 2000, Neto, Willi-Food, Bikkurei Sadeh, Diplomat, Shastovich and Shiniv, while other large brands such as Yafora and Tempo often ship through licensed intermediaries. One recent smuggling case was uncovered by Super Sapir staff, who found cigarettes hidden inside Pringles cartons supplied by an Arab-sector vendor for transfer to a Gaza trader. The company immediately alerted security officials, who began investigating. A few weeks earlier, hundreds of kilograms of tobacco were found hidden in dozens of cans of stuffed vine leaves.
The supply system is part of Israel's effort to prevent Hamas from monopolizing aid. After the January 2025 ceasefire, which included the release of 33 hostages and a target of about 600 trucks a day, the military and customs authorities turned to private food firms to bridge the gap left by the UN and aid groups, which can move only about 200 full trucks a day by some estimates. Customs later limited Gaza sales licenses to major suppliers and retailers able to tightly monitor the supply chain, with approvals given only for goods and traders cleared by Shin Bet. Companies say demand is concentrated in snacks, soft drinks, cookies, tuna, Pepsi and frozen fish, but margins have been squeezed as supply increased and prices fell from the early rush, when traders were willing to pay up to five times Israeli prices.
