Couriers in Gaza deliver orders by bicycle despite shelling — Euronews
In the Gaza Strip, couriers continue to deliver orders by bicycle despite damaged roads, fuel shortages and the danger of shelling. Hamama delivery service director Jamil al-Yazji said that between 40 and 50 company employees have been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, but about 400 couriers still work on bicycles.
As Euronews reports, around 300 of these workers deliver orders in Gaza City. Bicycles have become the main means of delivery because of fuel shortages, the destruction of vehicles and road infrastructure.
Roads and repairs
Courier Mohammed Abu Amra, who works for the Barq company in the Maghazi area of central Gaza, said that a route that took less than 10 minutes by motorcycle can take 30 minutes or more by bicycle. Heat, rain, distances and road conditions make the work more difficult.
According to a joint assessment by the World Bank, the European Union and the UN released in April 2026, about 74% of Gaza's road network, or approximately 4,500 kilometres, was classified as destroyed. Another 13% of roads sustained partial damage. The assessment covers damage recorded up to October 2025.
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Courier Abbas al-Suri estimates his daily earnings at 50–60 shekels, or approximately 12–14 euros. At the same time, repairing a punctured tyre costs 30–40 shekels. According to him, workers dismantle bicycles that are unfit to ride in order to use their parts to repair others.
Risks during deliveries
On 29 August, a strike hit an electric bicycle in the Tel al-Hawa area in southwestern Gaza City. According to local reports citing medical and local sources, courier Raed Adel Mohammed Alyan and Abdel Fattah Abu al-Ish were killed, while three other people were injured, one of them seriously. Alyan worked for Hamama and was making a delivery, al-Yazji said.
Barq owner Tarek Abu Zakri said that some of his employees were injured as a result of a strike in Khan Younis, while others narrowly escaped shelling in the Al-Jalaa area of Gaza City. Barq, founded during the second truce in January 2025, has more than 50 employees at three branches — in Gaza City, central Gaza and Khan Younis.
