After two years of a grinding conflict, Palestinians within the Gaza Strip are observing the holy month of Ramadan throughout an unabating financial disaster as Israel continues to impose restrictions on the entry of meals and different provides regardless of a “ceasefire” reached in October.
For many households, the day by day wrestle to safe a mere loaf of bread has changed the normal festive ambiance earlier than the conflict. An evaluation by Al Jazeera, primarily based on official knowledge, reveals that skyrocketing costs for primary commodities have made a whole iftar meal to interrupt the day by day quick a distant dream for the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants.
Skyrocketing prices
During times when Israel tightened its siege or fully closed the crossings into Gaza, meals costs spiked by greater than 700 p.c. Whereas costs have retreated barely for the reason that “ceasefire” started in October, they continue to be considerably larger than pre-war ranges.
In keeping with Mohammed Barbakh, director normal of coverage and planning on the Ministry of Economic system in Gaza, official knowledge monitoring costs from earlier than the conflict started on October 7, 2023, to the primary days of this Ramadan present staggering will increase.
Al Jazeera’s evaluation of the ministry’s worth knowledge reveals the next hikes:
- Rooster: Costs rose from 14 shekels ($4.49) to 25 shekels ($8.01) per kilogramme (2.2lb), an 80 p.c improve.
- Frozen fish: Costs jumped from 8 shekels ($2.56) to 23 shekels ($7.37) per kilo, a 190 p.c improve.
- Frozen crimson meat: Costs rose from 23 shekels ($7.37) to 40 shekels ($12.82) per kilo, a 75 p.c distinction.
- Eggs: A tray of 30 eggs now prices 35 shekels ($11.22) in contrast with 13 shekels ($4.17), a 170 p.c improve.
Greens, a staple of the Palestinian weight loss program, have additionally seen dramatic surges. Tomatoes have doubled in worth whereas cucumbers have jumped by 300 p.c, rising from 3 shekels ($0.96) per kilo to 12 shekels ($3.85). Cheese costs have elevated by as much as 110 p.c, straight impacting the price of suhoor, the predawn meal earlier than the day by day fasting throughout Ramadan begins.
The price of a meal
Primarily based on knowledge from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Al Jazeera estimated the price of a primary iftar for a household of six. The meal consists of two chickens, rice, salad, appetisers, a gentle drink, cooking fuel and oil.
The value of the meal has risen to about 150 shekels ($48), up from 79 shekels ($25.32) earlier than the conflict, a rise of 90 p.c.
For suhoor, a easy meal of cheese, hummus, falafel and bread now prices 31.5 shekels ($10.10), in contrast with 18.6 shekels ($5.96) beforehand.
The mixed day by day value to feed a medium-sized household now stands at 181.5 shekels ($58.17), an 88 p.c leap from pre-war figures.
Financial obliteration
These worth hikes coincide with a collapse in buying energy. A United Nations report released in late 2025 indicated that the annual per capita revenue in Gaza plummeted to $161 (503 shekels) in 2024, down from $1,250 (3,900 shekels) in 2022.
The labour market has primarily vanished. In an announcement issued in October, Sami al-Amsi, head of the Basic Federation of Palestinian Commerce Unions, mentioned unemployment stood then at greater than 95 p.c as workshops, farmland and fishing fleets had been destroyed.
“The employee is not searching for a job as a result of there isn’t a work in any respect,” al-Amsi mentioned. “At the moment, the Palestinian employee is searching for a meals parcel to outlive.”
Blockade and monopoly
Financial researcher Ahmed Abu Qamar attributed the inflation to Israel’s restrictive entry insurance policies and “coordination charges” imposed on vans.
“The humanitarian protocol stipulates the entry of 600 vans day by day, but the Israeli occupation successfully permits solely between 200 and 250 vans,” Abu Qamar informed Al Jazeera, noting that the Strip really requires 1,000 vans day by day to fulfill minimal demand.
He additionally highlighted a monopoly system beneath which solely about 10 retailers are authorised to import items by 4 Israeli firms, proscribing competitors and maintaining costs artificially excessive. He known as for a return to a free market system and the complete opening of crossings to alleviate the burden on a inhabitants already crushed by battle.
