Water shortages worsen in Gaza under blockade as goods restrictions enter fifth day

GAZA CITY — Water shortages are worsening in Gaza under the continuing blockade, according to a post on Telegram on Sunday, as Israeli limits on commercial goods entered a fifth day and food prices rose, Al Jazeera reported.

In the post, TRT Arabi said images showed women and children struggling to obtain drinking water. It said water was scarce and living conditions were deteriorating in the Gaza Strip. The post gave no figures or locations, and the claims have not been independently verified.

Food prices rise

Separately, Al Jazeera reported on 18 October that prices of basic goods in Gaza were rising daily. It said the cost of flour, eggs, onions and other staples had increased sharply since Wednesday. On that day, Israel said commercial goods would no longer enter the territory.

According to Al Jazeera, the move follows a dispute over fees involving Palestinian merchants and Hamas, which still holds some authority in the strip.

Ismail al-Barawi, 52, from Jabalia in northern Gaza, told Al Jazeera that prices rose within two or three days of the crossings closing. He said a carton of eggs had gone from 35 shekels ($11.34) to between 60 and 70 shekels ($18 to $21). A kilogramme of onions had risen from five or six shekels to between eight and 10 shekels, he said.

He said he was buying smaller amounts as a result. Instead of a full carton of 30 eggs, he might buy four or five.

"Some people cannot even afford to feed themselves for a day. How much can they save or store when they have no money?" he said.

Al-Barawi said he feeds an extended family of 11 or 12 people. He said he expected a 50 kg sack of flour could cost 200 or even 300 shekels if the crossings stayed closed.

He also described limits to stockpiling. Fresh vegetables can spoil within days, he said, and unreliable electricity makes it hard to keep meat for long.

Dispute over fees

Gaza's Government Media Office rejected Israel's explanation for the suspension on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera. The office denied that authorities in Gaza had imposed taxes or government fees on commercial trucks.

It said a 10,000-shekel ($3,242) amount cited by Israel was tied to a voluntary community fund. The fund, it said, is meant to support vulnerable families and financial relief projects.

The office also said measures requiring a 30 percent rate for cash transactions had been introduced in agreement with the Chamber of Commerce. Al Jazeera's text on the point was cut off in the material available.

What is unconfirmed

The TRT Arabi post is the only source in the available material that refers to water shortages. It does not say how many people are affected or where. No official figures on water supply were included. Israel's own statement on the suspension was described only through Al Jazeera and the Government Media Office's response.

Background

Al Jazeera said hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have fallen into poverty since the war began in October 2023. It said incomes have shrunk and prices of basic goods have climbed as Israel tightened its siege.

Al-Barawi described a repeating cycle in which uncertainty over the status of the crossings is followed by higher prices. He said traders raise prices as soon as they hear the crossings may stay closed, which adds to the effect of real shortages.

Al Jazeera said families without money to buy in bulk would be hit hardest if the border stays closed.