The cost of living in Gaza is peaking with price increases not seen in this Strip for a long time.
This is a sharp increase of 50-20% in some products and goods, which puts the economic situation in the Strip into a new phase.
"Residents of Gaza have a hard time buying products that are considered completely basic, and many families just do not know what to do. People walk down the street, look at each other helplessly, everyone feels like they are in the same boat, can no longer. It becomes unbearable," the Gaza resident says. Israel today".
Residents of Gaza are talking about an exacerbating cash crisis following the significant rise in prices and say they are paying about 30% more on a consumer basket than was previously the case.
"The price of a 25 kg bag of wheat is sold today at NIS 70-60, compared to NIS 30 until a year ago.
Olive prices have also risen significantly, twice as much as we are used to.
The amount of olives we used to buy for NIS 5 now costs NIS 10.
Even the rice rose.
5 kg of rice that was once sold for 25 shekels, now stands at 35 shekels. Fuel is rising here now as in Israel. People can not buy many times in cash because everything becomes very expensive. I'm not talking about buying a TV or refrigerator, but products. "Simple consumption," he says.
Illustration, Photo: Getty Images
There is almost no product whose price has not risen.
The war in Ukraine and the general trend in the world and in Israel are beginning to show their signs on the Gaza Strip as well, which is in a precarious economic situation as well.
In Gaza, unemployment is reported at about 60% of the general population.
About 70% of young people are unemployed, and among women, the figure is higher and is estimated at more than 90%.
Low salaries are eroding
"You have a minimum wage or an average wage, in Gaza there is no such thing as a minimum wage, there is hardly a wage or a job," said a concerned resident of the Gaza Strip.
"The average salary for those who work is about 1,000 shekels a month. The price for a package of 50 pitas was 7 shekels and today it is already 10 shekels. This means that a family with 3-4 children spends about 200 shekels a month on bread alone."
The cost of living is also felt in the field of services and goods, and recently factories in the Gaza Strip in the field of production and construction were closed.
"A year ago, the price of a ton of iron in Gaza was NIS 2,500, compared to NIS 4,000 today. Everything related to cement and the building soared, not all factory owners are under pressure. People here tell Hamas, if we reach a situation where our children have no food, then what is life worth? "It must not be reached to the point that Gaza has nothing to lose. If that happens, everyone will be in trouble, both Hamas and Israel," explains a resident of the Gaza Strip.
Gaza Hope: Increasing the number of work permits for Israel
The increase in the number of work permits issued by Israel to Gaza residents has helped economic recovery in Gaza and provided hope for residents, but the global economic situation and the cost of living have landed a new blow that prevents the wheels of the Gaza Strip from starting.
"Freezing work permits for workers in Israel may move Hamas a little, but by and large it causes more pressure on the Gaza public than on Hamas. 2,000 more permits that have been announced and have been frozen in the meantime are nonsense, it's nothing in light of the crazy economic situation here. "It is only possible to increase the number of workers by 2,000 or 2,000, it will not help. For Gaza to get back on its feet and experience a serious change, it needs between 60,000 and 100,000 permits," says a Gaza resident.
"People have no energy to protest, and Hamas will probably not allow. The organization wants to maintain its rule first, and therefore does not exactly want to go to war with Israel because it knows it will have no legitimacy from the Gazans in the face of the economic situation. Hamas does not want anger and frustration directed at it. "If Israel's operations in Jenin continue and there is an escalation in the West Bank, Gaza will not be able to remain silent, especially the Islamic Jihad," sources in the Gaza Strip added.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
