GAZA, (PIC)
The markets of the Gaza Strip are witnessing an unprecedented state of stagnation and economic contraction, in light of the continuation of the repercussions of the Israeli war and strict closure policies and preventing the entry of goods and raw materials necessary to restart various economic sectors.
The residents of the Strip suffer from a sharp deterioration in their living conditions, coinciding with the rise in unemployment and poverty rates and the lack of income sources, which reflected directly on the purchasing power and led to a widespread paralysis in the commercial movement inside the markets.
During the months of the war and the subsequent periods of ceasefire, the economic crisis became more complex due to the continuation of Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and trucks, in addition to keeping wide economic sectors in the circle of destruction without any real possibility for recovery or resuming production.
This report is based on data and field testimonies contained in a report published by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, which dealt with the conditions of the markets in Gaza in light of the continuation of Israeli restrictions and the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Also, preventing the entry of raw materials and basic operating supplies led to the disruption of hundreds of factories and commercial facilities, causing the collapse of supply chains and the decline of economic activity to dangerous levels.
Almost non-existent trade movement
Mahmoud Arandas says that living conditions have become extremely harsh in light of the lack of income sources and the inability to provide basic needs for his family, pointing out that going to the markets has become limited to watching goods without the ability to buy them except within narrow limits.
Arandas added that the refreshments shop where he used to work inside Al-Bureij camp was destroyed during the war, making him lose his only source of livelihood, explaining that his family currently relies on humanitarian aid and soup kitchens to provide food.
He said that economic conditions before the war were not good, but they allowed families to manage their daily affairs and buy their basic needs, “but today that is no longer possible.”
The markets in various areas of the Gaza Strip reflect the scale of the humanitarian and economic crisis, with a noticeable decline in the buying and selling movement, and the inability of the majority of families to secure their basic needs.
In the Shati refugee camp market west of Gaza City, the seller Aed Abu Matar stands in front of his stall for selling clothes amid weak commercial movement and limited demand from citizens as a result of economic deterioration and high prices.
Abu Matar says that the commercial seasons, which used to represent an opportunity to improve income and move the markets, have lost their value during the current period, adding that the weak purchasing power made the seasons “pass like any ordinary days.”
He pointed out that the crisis is not limited to citizens only, but extends to traders and sellers who suffer repeated losses due to sharp fluctuations in prices, noting that prices of clothes rose significantly with the beginning of the season before falling relatively, but they are still much higher than their normal levels.
Figures reflecting the scale of the collapse
For his part, the coordinator of the economic committee in the Chamber of Commerce, Riyadh Al-Sawafiri, said that the Gazan markets are passing through a state of severe stagnation as a result of the continuation of Israeli policies that hinder the flow of goods and exacerbate economic burdens on citizens and traders.
Al-Sawafiri accused Israel of the primary responsibility for the worsening economic crisis, pointing to other factors that contribute to raising prices such as imposing high fees on the entry of goods. He stressed that the markets are witnessing a clear state of collapse in commercial movement.
For his part, the economic affairs specialist Mohammad Al-Drimly described the situation of the markets in Gaza as catastrophic, as a result of the strict Israeli restrictions that prevent the recovery of the economy and paralyze various productive and commercial sectors.
Al-Drimly said that unemployment rates rose to about 80%, in a dangerous indicator of the scale of the economic collapse, while poverty and food insecurity rates exceeded 90%, at a time when about 95% of the population relies on food aid as a main source for survival.
He pointed out that more than 70% of the actual needs of the population are missing from the markets due to the continuous closure of crossings and preventing the entry of goods, raw materials, and commercial trucks, in addition to a sharp crisis in cash liquidity that directly affected economic activity and the buying and selling movement.
He added that the economy of Gaza recorded a sharp contraction by 87% during the year 2025 compared to what it was before the war, reflecting the scale of the unprecedented collapse experienced by the Strip.
In light of the continuation of economic restrictions and preventing the entry of goods and raw materials, Gaza markets remain plunged in a state of suffocating stagnation that threatens what remains of the components of economic life, at a time when the state of monopoly that arose during the war contributed to raising the prices of basic goods by rates exceeding 300%, as a result of a limited number of traders and intermediaries controlling the small quantities available of goods inside the Strip.