Gaza Food Prices Spike After Israel Halts Commercial Goods — SkimNews
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- Israel stopped commercial goods from entering Gaza starting Wednesday, with the closure now in its fifth consecutive day and basic food prices climbing sharply across marketplaces
- Ismail al-Barawi, a 52-year-old in Jabalia, reported eggs rising from 35 to 60–70 shekels, onions from 5–6 to 8–10 shekels, and avocados doubling to 15 shekels within 2–3 days, and predicted a 50kg flour sack could reach 200–300 shekels if closures persist
- Gaza's Government Media Office rejected Israel's tax-fee explanation, saying the disputed 10,000-shekel amount was a voluntary community fund for vulnerable families and called on mediators to push for 600 trucks daily per existing agreements
- UN OCHA reported Gaza food prices averaged 204% above pre-October 2023 levels in September 2026, even before the new border restrictions were imposed
- Iman Atallah, a displaced woman in Beit Lahiya, said a flour sack rose from 25–35 to about 80 shekels, forcing her family to rely on rice and lentils and sometimes skip breakfast or dinner
- Hamas still holds some authority in the strip and is involved in the fee dispute with Palestinian merchants that Israel cited as its reason for halting commercial shipments
Why it matters: Families without savings can't stockpile before prices climb further, deepening food poverty at a time when fresh produce spoils within days and unreliable electricity limits meat storage. With UN OCHA reporting prices already 204% above pre-war levels before this latest halt, Gaza's poorest households face an immediate acceleration of malnutrition risk that aid distributions alone cannot offset.
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