![Image of a truck loaded with aid parcels in Gaza [Abed Rahim Khatib/Apaimages]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016_7_4-A-truck-loaded-with-aid-parcels-in-Gaza-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israel has lifted the ban on parcels being sent to Gaza, Israeli officials announced yesterday. Israel initiated the ban over allegations Hamas was using them to smuggle weapons into the besieged enclave.
“It was decided yesterday to renew the postal services for packages into the Gaza Strip,” a statement from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Israeli Defence Ministry said yesterday.
It justified the ban as a result of multiple attempts by Hamas to “smuggle materials for terror purposes, including knives, drones [and] spy equipment.”
According to Palestinian border authorities the parcel ban has been in place for five months.
COGAT confirmed that letters and documents had not been affected by the ban.