Gazans are facing severe hardship four weeks since the US-brokered ceasefire, with Israel allowing only a fraction of the agreed aid deliveries and local traders and Hamas authorities trading accusations over unaffordable prices.
Israel's border closures and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, as well as its destruction of farmland, have severely limited food stocks in Gaza.
While deliveries have increased to some extent since the truce took effect, Gazans say prices have not dropped to reflect the inflow of goods and humanitarian aid.
Traders blame high taxes imposed by the Ministry of Economy, part of the Gaza administration set up under the militant group Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian territory in 2007.
The ministry in turn blames the traders, saying it is doing its best to control prices through checks and by selling some items directly through its own outlets.
Murad Hameed, a resident of Al Jalaa neighbourhood in Gaza city, said both sides are to blame.
“Prices in Gaza change daily, and the Ministry of Economy focuses only on a few specific items, such as frozen foods, but for everything else, citizens remain at the mercy of the black market and the traders’ manipulation of prices,” Mr Hameed said.
“For example, only a few days ago, a kilo of sugar was four shekels [about $1.23], but when security tensions and escalation occurred, traders suddenly raised it to six or even seven shekels.”
The Ministry of Economy had at times tried to set official prices for some food items, based on import and production costs, he said, “but unfortunately, traders didn’t comply, and everyone manipulates prices as they please, without accountability or supervision”.
Share of profits
An employee at the ministry also blamed the high prices on traders seeking to maximise profits, and denied that it was imposing taxes on their goods.
“The Ministry of Economy doesn’t impose taxes in the traditional sense, but it takes a portion of traders’ profits, and this shouldn’t actually affect prices,” the employee, who asked not to be named, told The National.
He said the money taken from the traders was to cover the salaries of the ministry’s employees and of security personnel who protect traders’ goods and warehouses.
“The real cause of rising prices is some greedy traders, and we are constantly launching campaigns to pursue and warn them so that they sell goods at reasonable prices,” the employee said.
“However, at the moment, it’s difficult to monitor all traders and prices, because the ministry no longer has a presence at the crossings and cannot track all incoming goods or follow up as it did before the war.”
He said the ministry has tried to establish control over some items, such as chicken, by monitoring the quantities entering the market and selling them through designated outlets, in a bid to keep prices down.
“But for other goods, prices are determined by supply and demand. For instance, when there’s a security escalation or a delay in prisoner exchanges, prices immediately rise. When there’s talk of calm and stability, they go back down.”
Mr Hameed questioned the prices being charged at the ministry’s outlets.
“A kilo of chicken is being sold through official ministry outlets at 45 shekels, even though before the war, it was no more than 10 shekels, and the import cost is much lower than the current price,” he said.
“Logically, it shouldn’t exceed 15 shekels per kilo, at most, but unfortunately, as I said, no one is working in the interest of the citizens.”
Ministry surcharge
A butcher in Gaza city, who also asked not to be identified, said the ministry was directly controlling imports of items such as meat and poultry, distributing them to select traders and setting retail prices that included the tax it imposes.
“A few days ago, a trader brought chicken to sell for 28 shekels per kilo to help reduce prices,” the butcher said. “But after the ministry intervened, the price went up to 40 shekels, and the difference went to them.”
He said ministry representatives monitored every sale. “I received about a tonne of chicken from that shipment, and I was forced to sell it at their price while they stood there watching,” he said.
Jamal Al Ghazi, a human rights researcher and political activist who requested a pseudonym, said Hamas was reasserting control over Gaza through two key levers: security and money.
“Since the ceasefire, Hamas has redeployed police forces and pursued armed militias in the north and south,” he told The National. “But the real power lies in taxation. The Ministry of Economy and its enforcement units are forcing traders to pay percentages of their profits to fund salaries and bonuses.”
'Hamas exerting control'
Mr Al Ghazi said that while the world assumes that Hamas will not rule Gaza after the war, as outlined in US-backed peace plan, the opposite was true on the ground.
“What’s happening here contradicts the political narrative,” he said. “Hamas is very much present, strengthening its position despite everything,” he said.
“Security and money are the backbone of any rule. Whoever controls them controls the country. Hamas is working to control both, by any means necessary.”
Gazans unable to afford market prices have to rely on aid, but this is arriving in far smaller volumes than agreed under the truce.
According to the Gaza government media office, the average number of lorries allowed to enter daily since the ceasefire began was only 171, instead of the required 600.
The shortfall is driving people to desperate measures. Ahmad Zaqout, 34, a phone technician, described chaos on Salah Al Din Street on Sunday as lorries carrying aid arrived around sunset.
“People rushed the trucks, forced the drivers to stop, and looted everything,” he told The National. “Flour is still unavailable, and some families haven’t received any aid. It’s no justification, but it’s the reality. People are hungry.”
Mr Zaqout said Hamas police were present, but hopelessly outnumbered. “There were fewer than 10 officers against more than 500 people,” he said. “They fired into the air, but that couldn’t stop the crowd.”
He believes Hamas could do more to secure the aid convoys, which carry supplies to centres run by humanitarian agencies where they are distributed free of charge.
“They can enforce control when it comes to taxes and traders, so why not for humanitarian aid?” he asked. “It seems they’re allowing some chaos now, while staying strict about money.”
