Food Prices in Gaza Soar over 1,000%: WFP

Gaza, MINA – The World Food Programme (WFP) has revealed that the hunger crisis is worsening in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the prices of basic food items have soared by more than 1,000% compared to pre-Israeli aggression levels, Palinfo reported.

This was conveyed in a statement published by the United Nations on its website on Friday evening, highlighting the hunger crisis and the risk of continuing the Israeli war and siege on Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern area.

“The ongoing military operation in northern Gaza has displaced 130,000 people over the past seven weeks,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UN Commissioner for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also warned that “ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip continue to place Palestinians at serious risk, particularly civilians struggling to survive amid the Israeli blockade of the Northern Gaza Governorate.”

According to OCHA, “in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, shortages of cooking gas have forced families to rely on burning garbage for fuel, increasing the risk of respiratory infections, while health care services are extremely limited.”

OCHA cited humanitarian partners as saying that there is a severe shortage of adequate shelter for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the hostilities across Gaza.

Less than a quarter of the shelter needs in the Gaza Strip have been met, leaving nearly a million people at risk of harsh conditions as winter approaches, the UN office said.

The UN office also noted that some 545,000 people are living in damaged buildings and makeshift shelters, underscoring the urgent need to ensure the immediate delivery of thousands of tarpaulins and insulation sheets.

In the south, rains that flooded shelters along the coast in the town of Al-Qarara caused hundreds of families to flee to Hamad Town in Khan Yunis Governorate, in southern Gaza over the past six days, according to the same source. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)