Markets in the Gaza Strip are well stocked with food, even as Hamas continues to divert vital resources for terrorist purposes, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT)—the Defense Ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza—said over the weekend.
“Hamas wants you to see a collapse. The reality on the ground says otherwise. Food is filling the markets, enough for sustained amounts of time, medical centers are active, and aid is consistently exceeding international requirements,” said COGAT.
“The only real barrier? Hamas terror. They cynically steal vital resources to power terror networks instead of providing for their own people,” continued the statement.
“The facts speak for themselves. Don’t believe Hamas lies,” it added.
Hamas wants you to see a collapse. The reality on the ground says otherwise.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) April 17, 2026
Food is filling the markets,enough for sustained ammounts of time, medical centers are active, and aid is consistently exceeding international requirements.
The only real barrier? Hamas terror
They… pic.twitter.com/SiAUVKytPI
Senior U.S. officials joined direct talks with Hamas in Cairo this week for the first time since the Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire deal with the Palestinian terrorist organization, CNN reported on Wednesday.
A delegation led by senior Trump administration official Aryeh Lightstone met with leading Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya on Tuesday night, two Hamas sources told the broadcaster.
Lightstone was joined by Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for the Gaza Strip for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, according to the report.
Al-Hayya pressed Lightstone regarding the need for Jerusalem to fully implement its commitments to the first phase of the U.S.-brokered truce, including an end to airstrikes and the entry of more aid into Gaza, before moving to the deal’s next phase, the sources told CNN.
The current truce went into effect in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 10, 2025, ending the two-year war that began when Hamas, other Palestinian terrorist groups and Gazan “civilians” invaded the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023. The terms of the first phase leave the Israel Defense Forces in control of approximately half of Gaza.
Top Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal and Musa Abu Marzouk, have rejected key parts of Trump’s plan in recent months, including disarmament, despite having agreed to the proposal in October.
