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STORY: GAZA / FOOD PRICES AND SCARCITY
TRT: 11:28
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: NATS
DATELINE: 18 OCTOBER 2024, DEIR AL-BALAH CITY, CENTRAL GAZA STRIP
1. Various shots, people moving in the central market of Deir Al-Balah city, in the middle of Gaza Strip.
2. Various shots, a vegetable stall in the market of Deir Al-Balah city.
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Tariq Abu Amra, buyer at the market:
"There are no prices, this is hell. We are talking about something that doesn’t happen in America or the European Union, it doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. You see and hear the people. What we used to buy for the lowest prices, today you can’t even touch. We are talking about tomatoes at high prices, and potatoes, lemons, all the vegetables are expensive. May God help those with large families, how can they provide food for them? Take a tour around the market and see how the prices have risen. As for me, I live with the bare minimum because I want to survive, I don’t have any options. We are struggling to survive for our children."
4. Various shots, the vegetable market in Deir Al-Balah city
5. Various shots, vendors calling buyers to purchase vegetables
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Al-Hilu, vegetable vendor:
"We sell parsley and coriander. The situation is tough, and prices are high, people here just walk by the vegetables without buying anything because of the high prices. A kilo of tomatoes is 50 shekels, and a kilo of onions is 40 shekels, the prices are outrageous. A person works daily for 30 shekels, what can they buy? Will they buy a single tomato? Prices are high, and we only see chicken once a month in the market. People are wandering around the street, as you can see. Some customers come without any money, we give them without charge. The situation is difficult, prices are high, and people don’t have money. Can you imagine, a kilo of tomatoes for 50 shekels? We don’t know what to say."
7. Various shots, the vegetable market in Deir Al-Balah city, central Gaza Strip
8. Various shots, a vegetable seller calling buyers
9. Various shots, the vegetable market in Deir Al-Balah city, central Gaza Strip
10. Various shots, a free food distribution center for the poor in central Deir Al-Balah city
11. Various shots, a crowd of Palestinians, including women, children, and men, carrying containers to fill with free food
12. Various shots, Palestinians standing in line to receive food
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amani Shaheen, displaced from Gaza City:
"I came here to the 'Takia,' the free food distribution center, to get food to feed my children, because everything is so expensive. I can’t buy vegetables, I can’t buy anything. There’s no work. We live in a tent, and honestly, we are exhausted. I came to take food for my children to feed them. Everything is expensive and scarce in the market."
14. Various shots, one of the supervisors at the food distribution center filling Palestinian containers with food
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saleem Alwan, displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip:
"We benefit a lot from this Takia. It’s not just about food. The siege is affecting everything. I can’t afford clothes, shoes are expensive, everything is expensive. We are suffering from the high cost of living. When the border crossing is closed, the price of sugar becomes 70 shekels. A bottle of cooking oil now costs 30 shekels. Those who had money have run out of it. We need a solution for these conditions, an end to the war, and to return to our homes. The winter will exhaust us."
16. Various shots, the food distribution center in central Deir Al-Balah city
17. Various shots, workers at the food distribution center filling Palestinian containers with food.
18. Various shots, the food distribution center in central Deir Al-Balah city
Gaza Strip markets are suffering from a severe shortage of food supplies and high vegetable prices, with few available items barely found in the markets. This is a result of the continued closure of border crossings and the imposition of strict conditions on the entry of goods and humanitarian aid for residents who have been enduring war and displacement for over a year.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, there has been a sharp rise in the cost-of-living index in Gaza, with an increase of 283 percent from October 7, 2023, until the end of September 2024.
Most of the population has lost their sources of income due to the ongoing war in Gaza, exacerbating their economic situation and their ability to meet basic living needs.
Abu Tariq Abu Amra, who was at the market in Deir Al-Balah, one of the most crowded areas with displaced Palestinians, said: "As for me, I live with the bare minimum because I want to survive, I have no other options. We are struggling to survive for ourselves and our children."
A vegetable vendor in Deir Al-Balah market, named Mahmoud Al-Hilu, said: "People here walk past the vegetables without buying anything because prices are high. A kilo of tomatoes is 50 shekels, and a kilo of onions is 40 shekels (with the exchange rate being 3.71 shekels to the dollar). The prices are outrageous. Someone earning 30 shekels a day, what can they buy? A single tomato? The prices are too high."
On the other hand, Palestinian families without income sources have had no choice but to turn to free food distribution centers to secure their daily meals.
In front of one such free food distribution center in central Deir Al-Balah, hundreds of Palestinians, including children and women, line up, holding their containers to be filled with food.
Amani Shaheen was displaced from Gaza City. In line waiting to receive food, she said, "I came here to the 'Takia,' the free food distribution center, to get food to feed my children because everything is so expensive. I can’t buy vegetables, I can’t buy anything. There’s no work. We live in a tent, and honestly, we are exhausted. I came to take food for my children to feed them. Everything is expensive and scarce in the market."
Meanwhile, Saleem Alwan, who was displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza to Deir Al-Balah, said, "It’s not just about food. The siege affects everything. I can’t afford clothes, shoes are expensive, everything is expensive. We are suffering from the high cost of living. When the border crossing is closed, the price of sugar becomes 70 shekels, and a bottle of cooking oil costs 30 shekels. Those who had money are now out of it. We need a solution for these conditions, an end to the war, and a return to our homes."
