Gaza Between Blockade and Skyrocketing Prices: When Shelves Are Full but Stomachs Stay Empty by Noor Nashwan

Life in Gaza no longer revolves around familiar concerns like safety, education, or stability.

War and blockade have overshadowed everything, leaving families with a single, urgent question:

How can we feed our children?

For months, border crossings were closed, and humanitarian aid and basic food supplies were blocked. The Strip plunged into unprecedented food insecurity. Markets emptied, community kitchens shut down, and relief programs ran out of resources. Dining tables became barren, marked only by worry.

Signs of hunger were everywhere. Children and adults grew visibly weak, and fainting in food lines became a common sight. Mothers struggled to feed their families using rudimentary methods, grinding lentils, rice, or pasta into flour to bake makeshift bread. In kitchens lacking resources but rich in patience, anything grindable became dough—and each loaf a fleeting hope to feed a child.

During this stage of outright hunger, bread became a daily dream and clean water a nearly impossible wish. Families no longer asked, “What will we eat today?” but rather, “Will there be anything to eat at all?”

After weeks of deprivation, some food began entering Gaza again. Markets slowly restocked, but the reality was harsh: goods were on the shelves but often beyond people’s reach. Prices soared. A sack of flour that once cost a modest sum now equaled several times a low-wage worker’s monthly salary. A can of baby formula became a luxury for the wealthy, and even limited vegetables were unaffordable for most families.

Caught between the hunger of the past and the skyrocketing prices of the present, most people remained trapped in a daily survival struggle. Food had returned, but hunger had simply taken on a new form: the inability to buy.

Basic vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and onions reached around $90 per kilogram, while baby formula often exceeded $80, sometimes surpassing $100. A 25-kg sack of flour cost over $500, sugar about $100 per kilogram, and a single piece of clothing around $100. Cleaning supplies such as soap, shampoo, and detergents could total nearly $180.

In Gaza, daily life has become unlike anywhere else. War has left no room to think about stability, education, or a better future. For most families, dreams have narrowed to a single question: Will we find something to eat today?

Hunger and Desperation

With crossings closed for months, basic food supplies vanished. Markets emptied, bakeries shut, and shelves that once held rice, oil, and canned goods became bare. Community kitchens that fed thousands daily ceased operations, the World Food Programme could not operate bakeries or distribute bread, and UNRWA announced its flour stocks were depleted.

Without these institutions, families faced hunger directly, without alternatives. Emaciation was widespread, fainting in lines was common, and hospitals saw a rise in malnutrition cases. Hunger became a daily reality, affecting everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult.

Coping with Primitive Alternatives

In this dire context, families did not give up. Mothers turned to primitive solutions, grinding lentils, beans, pasta, and rice by hand and mixing them with water to bake thin loaves. Children waited eagerly for these makeshift breads, while mothers tried to mask the bitterness of need with a smile. The taste was unfamiliar and far from filling, but it was the only solution in the absence of flour and bread.

Return of Goods—But Not Relief

After months of scarcity, some food began to re-enter Gaza. Bakeries partially reopened, markets stocked some rice, oil, and canned goods, and limited fruits and vegetables appeared. At first, it seemed like relief—but prices were staggering.

A sack of flour that had once been affordable now cost many times its original price. Baby formula could cost more than a day’s wage for a laborer. Vegetables and fruits became luxury items, inaccessible to most families. People shifted from fighting hunger to fighting prices. Food was present, but for most, it remained out of reach.

The Dual Crisis

Gaza experienced two phases of suffering:

1. Complete absence of food, forcing reliance on rudimentary substitutes.
2. Return of food, but only for those who could afford it, while the majority survived on minimal rations or limited aid.

In both cases, families remained trapped in hunger, whether through deprivation or economic barriers.

An Ongoing Struggle

Today, Gaza’s residents face a complex reality. They have experienced outright hunger when markets were empty, and the cruelty of soaring prices when food returned in limited quantities at unaffordable rates. Between these phases, the central concern has remained the same: securing a loaf of bread for their children.

Bread is no longer just food; it symbolizes resilience and survival amid a prolonged siege and an ongoing daily struggle.

Limited Relief Through Private Sector Imports

After months of interruption, a new system has gradually allowed private-sector goods to enter Gaza. This step comes amid one of the Strip’s most severe humanitarian crises, where war, blockade, and food scarcity force residents into daily struggles for survival.

A Small Step Against Deep-Rooted Hunger

For months, basic goods disappeared. Markets ran dry of flour, rice, sugar, and oil. Bakeries shut down, and baby formula vanished. Even limited recent imports reached unaffordable prices.

The private-sector entry is a small step to alleviate the crisis, but it is insufficient compared to the scale of needs. Quantities are limited, distribution is uneven, and prices remain high despite some goods being available.

Restrictions and Unequal Access

Goods are entering gradually and under strict control, meaning markets will not be fully stocked suddenly. Quantities are limited, procedures are tight, and the poor often cannot afford available items.

International Pressure and Criticism

This step comes amid growing international pressure and criticism of Gaza’s deteriorating humanitarian situation. Images of malnourished children and families searching for bread have pushed stakeholders to find partial solutions. Yet, the reality on the ground is that the aid provided so far is only a drop in the ocean of need.

Between Hope and Disappointment

For residents, private-sector imports bring a glimmer of hope that the worst hunger may ease. But this hope is tempered by frustration: goods are on the shelves, but many cannot afford them. Without substantial support for the poor and displaced, high prices remain a major barrier to meaningful relief.

Original Publication Date: 10/27/2025