Food prices skyrocket as Gaza on the brink of famine

• 25kg bag of flour on sale in northern Gaza for up to £324, onions fifty times their pre-war price, and one kilogram of sugar now costs approximately £17. 
• To respond to the humanitarian crisis at scale, Christian Aid is calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. 

As people in Gaza teeter on the brink of famine, the stratospheric rise in food prices across the territory is laid bare in new research by the international development charity Christian Aid.  

The UK charity, which is working with farmers in northern Gaza to supply hot meals to thousands of families, said that – where available – onions on sale in the south are now 50 times their pre-war price, lemons 35 times and sugar more than 26 times at around £17 per kilogram. 

Leafy vegetables such as spinach, molokhiya (jute leaves) chard, and khubbazah (a type of mallow) cost 25 times more than they did before October 7, with a head of cabbage selling for about £4.30.  

The figures, which were sourced from a Christian Aid employee’s family trapped in Rafah, also reveal the cost of oil needed to cook the food – approximately £13 a litre – and other essentials including a packet of nappies which sells for just shy of £40. 

“There is little doubt that starvation is being used as a weapon of war,” said William Bell, Christian Aid's Head of Middle East Policy and Advocacy. 

“Due to a lack of humanitarian access, there is not enough available food for people to survive, let alone have a healthy diet. As a consequence, children in Gaza are dying of malnutrition and disease while the world turns a blind eye.” 

The family members who reported the figures after visiting Rafah’s Al Awda and Al Nijma markets last week, said a 25kg bag of flour costs in the region of £15.  

The Christian Aid consultant spoke to a friend trapped in Gaza City during the same period, who reported that flour is so scarce there that a 25kg bag is on sale for up to £324.  

Christian Aid’s William Bell added: “With desperate families reportedly eating grass to survive, this is suffering on a scale you can’t imagine. Our local partners in Gaza are responding as best they can, under intense pressure and at great personal risk, but essential supplies are running perilously low.  

“Until we can respond at scale, many more men, women and children will starve and continue to die. How many deaths is too many? The UK Government needs to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and stop arming Israel.” 

Pre-war, falafel sandwiches with zaatar and olive oil – known as “poor man’s food”, in Arabic طعام الفقراء – used to be the secret behind the food resilience of poor Palestinian families. Now even falafels are very hard to come by in Gaza’s markets due to a lack of chickpeas and the high price of vegetable oil, the Christian Aid consultant said. 

His extended family, which is trapped in Rafah after their respective homes in Gaza City were destroyed, totals 25 people including seven children and four elderly relatives, one of whom uses a wheelchair. They have been displaced three times during the conflict.  

A simple iftar meal which the family eats to break their fast during this holy month of Ramadan – largely consisting of potatoes, bread, beans and tinned food such tuna – costs an eyewatering £97.  

The Christian aid consultant, who left Gaza during a pause in the fighting to attend COP28 and then was unable to re-enter, said they try and minimise their food costs as much as possible.  

He said he has heard that some families are eating grass to survive. 

His wife said: “From my observations of our family, I [have] noticed the rapid occurrence of cold and flu symptoms, stomach problems…and diarrhoea or constipation. The main reason for this is the inability to provide sufficient food simply because of that mad rise in food prices, if [foods are] available at all.  

“In addition to that, [there is] the costs involved in medicines and herbs that are alternative medicines. The priority is always given to children and the elderly, who are always threatened by fatigue, weak immunity, and malnutrition.” 

She said she looks forward to once again preparing the traditional Palestinian dishes she used to cook for the family, usually on Fridays, like fried vegetables, falafel, beans, humus, Gazan salad (with all the ingredients), molokhiya (cooked jute leaves), qidra with rice (rice prepared in a pot, usually with meat), maqluba (rice mixed with vegetables and spices) and maftool (bread made of flour and semolina). 

Our colleague added: “The children miss fried and boiled eggs, cheese, fried potatoes, and other things like chocolate, biscuits, crisps, and sweets that they used to buy from the grocery store in the neighbourhood or from the school canteen or kindergarten. 

“The family - including my wife and children - wish they could temporarily stay in a safe space till war ends and our homes are restored then return quickly to Gaza City to continue our life and restore our family dreams in peace and without fear.” 

END.

Notes to editors: 

*Photos and interviews available*   

Most of the figures – except flour in northern Gaza – were provided by the family of a Christian Aid consultant on 12 March 2024, following their visits to two markets in Rafah: Al Awda Market and Al Nijma Market. The cost of beans and strawberries was provided on 14 March and the price of bottled water on 19 March. 

The family say the prices are believed to be typical of most markets in the south and middle of Gaza. 

The cost of a 25kg bag of flour in northern Gaza was provided during the period above by a friend of the Christian Aid employee who is in Gaza City. 

All figures in the table below are in Israeli New Shekels (ILS, also known as NIS) and GBP. They were calculated via Oanda using the conversion rate for 12/03/24 for the current price and using the conversion rate for 06/10/23 for the pre-war price.   

Where a range of prices is given, the increase is calculated using the lowest ILS pre-war price and the highest recorded current ILS price.