Hamas backs global port strike that idled $2 billion in cargo

An estimated $2 billion in cargo sat idle on Friday as dockworkers at 113 ports in 22 countries joined a coordinated strike. The action halted the movement of goods to protest the use of commercial facilities for military logistics and to address labor conditions in the maritime sector.

The No Harbour for Genocide, or NHG, coalition helped organize the event. The group stated on its website that the strike left more than two billion dollars worth of freight stranded in global ports. It issued a slogan for the day of action: "Dockworkers do not work for war."

Hamas released a statement on Friday commending the labor unions for their solidarity. The group identified the movement as a model for other organizations to follow. Hamas urged participants to continue rejecting the transfer of arms and military equipment to Israel, which the statement described as an occupying entity violating international laws.

According to Reuters, the strikers across the 113 ports also negotiated for higher pay, improved working conditions, and the right to have doctors on board vessels transiting war zones. Apostolos Kypraios, head of the Greek union of merchant marine engineers, told Reuters at a rally in Piraeus, "We will not work for their wars, and we will not become food for their cannons."

The NHG declaration linked the struggle against war to economic issues for port workers. It argued that the fight against aggression is connected to salaries, automation projects, and worker safety. The unions demanded that ports stop being used to transport arms, ammunition, and troops to conflict areas.

The group outlined seven specific demands in its statement. These included the recognition of an independent Palestinian state, an end to US-Israel wars of aggression in the Middle East, and solidarity with the peoples of Cuba, Venezuela, and Sudan. The declaration called for "no ports be turned into military bases" and demanded a rejection of the war economy.

Protesters in Europe held signs at major ports with messages such as "no to war, no to armament" and "embargo on Zionism now." The NHG website describes itself as a resource for trade unions and legal experts seeking to stop maritime transfers to Israel. The group states its goal is to track vessels that supply what it calls Israel's genocidal war machine.

The NHG database tracks specific shipments to monitor this activity. It claims to have recorded 315 shipments of components for Elbit Systems through 56 commercial ports in 29 countries between August 2025 and September 2026. The group also reports tracking 3,400 shipments supplying US military bases through 67 ports in 42 countries from December 2025 to September 2026.

The organization maintains a tool titled "What passes through this port" to help dockworkers identify vessels involved in supplying Palestine. Ships with a consistent pattern of supporting Israel are categorized by the type of cargo they carry. The website encourages activists to block vessels suspected of carrying military and dual-use supplies even if they are not on the official blacklist.