With aid suspended for over two months, Gaza’s hunger crisis deepens, and food becomes a luxury

Gaza’s nightmare continues as the food crisis intensifies, leaving residents fighting for survival after over 60 days of a full humanitarian aid blockade imposed by Israel. The embargo, which has halted the entry of essential supplies, including food, water, and medicine, marks the longest period without aid since the October 2023 war broke out. While a brief ceasefire allowed some supplies to enter in the initial months, that reprieve is long gone, and what little remains has quickly dwindled.

As a result, Gaza is facing an unprecedented surge in hunger, with food prices soaring to unaffordable levels. Data from the World Food Programme (WFP) highlights that food costs have skyrocketed by up to 740% since February, making even basic items like tomatoes, cucumbers, and sugar unattainable for the majority. A kilogram of sugar, for instance, now costs 70 shekels, and the price of tomatoes has shot up to 25 shekels per kilogram.

The shortage of available goods has left many with no choice but to scavenge for food in overcrowded communal kitchens set up by humanitarian organisations. Videos circulating online show long lines of desperate Gazans at these kitchens, waiting hours for a meal. A resident from Gaza City described the extreme situation: “There are vegetables and canned goods, but at outrageous prices. Yesterday, I cooked just okra — with no meat.”

Compounding the crisis is the suspicion that some of the food on sale in local markets is being sourced from stockpiled aid supplies, seized by Hamas. Reports and videos from the region have documented Hamas operatives commandeering humanitarian aid trucks for months, and with dwindling resources, it’s believed the terror group may be using the remaining food to fund its ongoing operations, further inflating prices.

The effects of this blockade are now being felt most severely by Gaza’s most vulnerable. Child malnutrition rates have spiked, with 64 children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the first two weeks of April alone. This number is a dramatic rise from previous months, and experts fear the situation will only worsen without immediate intervention. Hospitals, already overwhelmed, are unable to provide necessary nutrition to recovering patients. “There’s no food here, no dairy, no fruit. This delays recovery and makes it harder for patients to heal,” Dr. Iyas al-Bursh, a physician in Gaza, stated.

For many Gazans, the situation has become desperate. With incomes non-existent for most since the war began, people are resorting to extreme measures to feed their families. One man confessed to selling personal belongings just to afford food at inflated market prices. “I had no choice but to sell everything I had,” he said. The reality for many families is that while some still manage to eat, the vast majority of Gazans are left starving. The suffering is compounded by a lack of sufficient medical care, as hospitals face shortages of essential supplies.

Hamas’s role in hoarding aid has made the situation even more dire, with accusations that the group has been using its control over the Strip to manipulate food supplies for its own benefit. Even as the world calls for an end to the blockade and the resumption of aid, Israel is wary of allowing resources to fall into the hands of terrorist groups. Plans for resuming aid have been in flux, with discussions about whether international organisations or private security contractors should oversee distribution in a way that prevents Hamas from intercepting supplies.

Despite efforts to address the situation, it remains unclear how aid can effectively reach civilians without being diverted. The dire hunger situation has reached unprecedented levels, and as Hamas’s food reserves continue to deplete, the possibility of further instability looms large.

As international pressure mounts, the people of Gaza wait for a resolution that seems further out of reach than ever before.