Six years after it was imposed, Israel’s ongoing blockade continues to cause hardships for Gaza-based industries. Despite Israel easing the blockade after the flotilla raid in 2010, Gaza traders continue to face serious hardships, including the inability to bring in raw materials or machinery needed to run factories and warehouses.

"When I need a certain machine to keep my factory running, I go myself to the country from which I ordered that machine and do training there for several weeks, simply because Israel has not allowed experts to come in the Gaza Strip to help us run such machines. This restriction has been in place since Israel enforced its blockade on the Gaza Strip,” Mohammad al-Telbani, owner of a leading wafer and chocolate factory in the Gaza Strip, told Al-Monitor.

Telbani's business hardships have also extended to other significant matters.

"My factory in central Gaza employs about 400 workers and produces almost 75 tons of various types of wafers, chocolate, candy and ice cream per day. In 2006, when Israel launched the first major military attack on Gaza, the factory was forced to stop functioning for about five months. By then, we began facing difficulties bringing in raw materials and machines needed to run our plant,” he said.