Colombia suspends coal sales to Israel because of Gaza war

According to the Colombian government, the coal export ban will come into force five days after the decree is published in the Official Gazette and will not affect goods whose shipment has already been authorized.

Between January and August 2023, Colombia exported $375 million worth of goods to Israel, with a “significant portion” of that amount being coal, the government said, stressing that the material is a “strategic resource for the manufacture of weapons, the mobilization of troops and the production of provisions for military operations.”

The Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war left 1,194 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled area, at least 36,801 people, again mostly civilians, were killed in Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza.