Gaza City, Gaza — Prices of basic goods are rising daily in Gaza, as Israeli restrictions on the import of commercial goods entered their fifth consecutive day.
Families already suffering from the siege on the enclave have started stocking up on goods they can still find, for fear of imminent shortages and continued price increases.
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The cost of flour, eggs, onions and other staples has sharply increased since Wednesday, when Israel said that commercial goods would no longer enter Gaza. This comes amid a dispute over fees involving Palestinian merchants and Hamas, which still has some authority in the strip.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been plunged into poverty since Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. The price of basic goods has soared, as incomes have shrunk due to the war and Israel’s tightened siege.
Residents without the means to buy in bulk will have to continue to purchase food when they can. They will be worst hit by the daily price rises if the border remains closed.
Food shortages
The impact of the Israeli import restrictions is playing out in marketplaces, which are slightly busier than usual.
Ismail al-Barawi, 52, from Jabalia in northern Gaza, noticed a significant rise in prices within two or three days of the crossings being closed on Wednesday.
He described a recurring cycle of uncertainty in Gaza over the status of the crossings, which is usually followed by higher prices.
Al-Barawi said a carton of eggs that had cost 35 shekels ($11.34) was now selling for between 60 and 70 shekels ($18 to $21). The price of a kilogramme of onions had risen from five or six shekels ($1.50–$1.80) to between eight and 10 shekels ($2.40–$3), while a kilogramme of avocados had increased from seven or eight shekels ($2.10–$2.40) to around 15 shekels ($4.50).
“These increases happened in just two or three days,” he said, voicing concern about what prices would be if the crossings remain closed for another 10 to 15 days.
The increases have forced him to buy smaller quantities of what he needs. Instead of a full carton of 30 eggs, he might buy only four or five.
“Today, everyone is trading at the expense of the people. There is no mercy,” he said. He expressed frustration at traders, saying they raise prices as soon as they hear that crossings may remain closed, adding to the problem of real shortages.
Al-Barawi predicted that a 50 kg sack of flour could end up costing 200 or even 300 shekels ($60–$90), if the crossings remained closed.
Al-Barawi is responsible for providing food to his extended family of about 11 or 12 people, including his married daughters and their children. Whenever he has money, he prioritises basic goods such as flour, rice, cooking oil, onions and potatoes.
Given the uncertainty, it makes sense for Palestinians to stock up now before prices increase further. But many families in Gaza have no money to spare, he added.
“Some people cannot even afford to feed themselves for a day. How much can they save or store when they have no money?” he said.
But stockpiling also has its limits. Fresh vegetables can spoil within days, he said. Unreliable electricity supplies make it difficult to store meat for more than a brief period.
Questions on the suspension
Gaza’s Government Media Office on Thursday rejected Israel’s explanation for the suspension, denying that authorities in the territory had imposed taxes or government fees on commercial trucks.
The office said the 10,000-shekel ($3,242) amount cited by Israel was linked to a voluntary community fund intended to support vulnerable families and financial relief projects.
It also said measures requiring a 30 percent rate for cash transactions had been introduced in agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to address a shortage of cash liquidity and the circulation of worn-out banknotes.
The office accused Israel of using the dispute to impose further restrictions on supplies entering Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
Gaza authorities were not to blame for the reduction of trucks entering the enclave, it said, and called on mediators and international parties to push for the entry of 600 trucks a day, in line with existing agreements with Israel.
The office warned that continued restrictions would worsen the humanitarian and economic crisis in Gaza.
Food remains unaffordable for many households in Gaza. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that food prices in Gaza in September 2026 averaged 204 percent above pre-October 2023 levels, when the genocidal war on Gaza began and Israel tightened restrictions on goods entering the enclave. OCHA’s October 2 situation report, before the new border restrictions were imposed, documented the wider humanitarian pressures facing residents.
No money
Iman Atallah, a 50-year-old displaced woman living in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, said the suspension of food deliveries has brought back memories of the man-made famine which hit the enclave in 2025.
Atallah said the price of a sack of flour had already risen from between 25 and 35 shekels ($7.50–$10.50) before the closure to about 80 shekels ($24). With little income and a family to support, she said that even buying basic food had become increasingly difficult.
“Before the crossings closed, flour was affordable. We could somehow manage to buy it. Now it costs 80 shekels ($24),” she said.
The flour her family receives through aid distributions lasts less than a month. Fresh fruit and eggs are not completely unaffordable.
“We used to eat more, and we could buy eggs for the children. Now we’ve had to give those things up,” she said.
Her family now relies on rice and lentils, and they can afford only a little bread. Atallah said they sometimes skip breakfast or dinner, with lunch as their main meal of the day.
Atallah’s family is one of the many in Gaza unable to afford extra supplies and facing a bleak outlook if the crisis continues.
“We cannot stock up because we have no income,” she said. “If the crossings remain closed for 10 or 15 days, everything will become extremely expensive. Those who have money will stock up, while those who do not will just have to watch.”