Time - Once vibrant with produce and daily bustle, [Gaza] markets have been
hollowed out by months of siege, bombardment, and economic collapse.
Since Israeli forces resumed offensive operations on March 18, the price
of flour has climbed by 5,000 percent, residents say, and cooking oil
by 1,200 percent.
“No one can afford to buy,” says Alkahlout, 33, a psychological counselor working at a school housing the displaced. “Sometimes we are forced to purchase small amounts just to feed our children.”
Famine, which has loomed over the enclave for much of the 19-month war, is now imminent, according to international aid groups. The groups, led by the U.N., base their assessment on a complex formula known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. The most recent report, released May 12, found the whole of Gaza qualified as an “Emergency,” or at critical risk of famine. Some 470,000 residents (22 percent) had reached “Catastrophe,” defined as “starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels.”
Food prices tell the same story of scarcity. Residents of Gaza's north say a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice that cost $3 in February is now $10. A cucumber costs 7 times more. Baby formula has quadrupled and the price of a can of peas is up 1,000 percent. Some items, like fruit and chicken, simply cannot be obtained.
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