Israel has stopped processing traders' requests to import food into the Gaza Strip, according to 12 people involved in the trade, choking off a route that for the past six months has supplied more than half of the needs of the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Since October 11, Gaza-based traders who were importing food from Israel and the occupied West Bank have been unable to access the system introduced in the spring by COGAT, the Israeli government body that oversees aid and commercial shipments, and have received no response.

A Reuters analysis of official Israeli data showed the shift has brought the flow of goods into Gaza to its lowest level since the start of the war.

The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories unit did not respond to Reuters' questions about commercial food imports and aid to Gaza.

Between October 1 and 16, the overall flow of shipments into Gaza – including aid and commercial goods – dropped to a daily average of 29 truckloads, according to COGAT statistics. That compares with a daily average of 175 truckloads between May and September, the data show.

Commercial shipments – goods purchased by local merchants, transported by truck after receiving direct approval from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, and then sold in markets in Gaza – constituted about 55% of the total during that period.

Two sources involved in food supplies said the reason for halting commercial shipments was Israel's concern that Hamas was getting revenue from imports.

A Hamas spokesman denied the allegations, saying the movement was trying to ensure aid was distributed in Gaza. He said the closure came as Israel launched a new military operation in northern Gaza, a development that has hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Catastrophic hunger

The UN World Food Programme said in a statement on Sunday that the operation had halted all aid deliveries through crossings in the north for at least two weeks this month.

A series of measures taken by Israeli government departments and the military have reduced the delivery of food supplies to Gaza.

In August, Israeli authorities introduced a new customs rule on one of the aid channels, and began to reduce the separate route for commercial goods.

The global food security monitor issued a new warning on Thursday. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said the recent escalation in hostilities could double the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophic" hunger.

Before the war, about 500 trucks entered Gaza daily carrying a mix of aid and commercial imports, such as food, building materials and agricultural supplies.

Reuters spoke to five importers in Gaza, two businessmen who send goods from the West Bank, a Gaza business official and three people involved in delivering aid. "The situation has become miserable," said Ibrahim Baraka, a resident of southern Gaza.

“We have some non-perishable aid, but there is almost no fresh produce left. A kilo of onions costs $15 in southern Gaza,” he said, and five other residents, seven merchants and five humanitarian workers confirmed his account.

The main source of food for Gazans who cannot afford to buy from local markets remains international humanitarian aid organized by the United Nations, which is subject to security approval by the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories for each shipment.