As Palestinians brave hunger, aid black market flourishes in Gaza; rice costs 15 times prewar price

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5 days ago

More than 500 people, including children, have been killed while trying to reach aid centres controlled by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The perils of accessing the sites have given rise to a brutal black economy read more
Desperate Palestinians are buying resold humanitarian aid in Gaza at exorbitant prices, as deadly conditions around American-backed aid distribution sites force many to rely on black-market goods that were meant to be delivered free of cost.
Traders are reselling items originally distributed by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed programme that has operated limited aid points in southern Gaza since May. These sites, set up under Israeli military supervision and managed by American private security contractors, have become both lifelines and danger zones.
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More than 500 people, including children, have been killed while trying to reach aid centres, officials say. Israel's military has admitted that its soldiers have fired on people heading to the sites, claiming they responded when individuals 'approached them in a way they deemed threatening', Financial Times reported.
The perils of accessing the sites have given rise to a brutal economy. 'The strongest people who took, for example, 100 bottles of vegetable oil, go and sell it,' said Ayed Abu Ramadan, head of Gaza's Chamber of Commerce. 'They sell what would have been 10 shekels for 100 shekels. And they come back the next day and repeat the same thing, because they have the physical capacity.'
Markets flooded with aid
On a recent trip to Khan Younis, Save the Children's humanitarian director for Gaza, Rachael Cummings, said she repeatedly saw aid branded with GHF markings being sold. 'The GHF products are in the markets all the time,' she said. 'Every time I drive past a market stall, there are GHF products for sale.'
One such product was potatoes. Mohammad Farra, a father of two, told FT he bought a 5kg bag for 250 shekels ($75), more than 15 times the pre-war price. When he asked the vendor where they came from, the answer was 'the American foundation'.
GHF admitted that resale is occurring but said it had not authorised such trade. 'Under no circumstances was any merchant permitted to sell this aid,' the foundation said. 'All GHF aid is free, always.' But it also acknowledged that once food enters circulation, 'individual resale' is difficult to prevent.
In a pilot project last month, the GHF began giving food parcels directly to merchants to distribute within communities. Merchants were not paid but were reportedly told they could sell part of the supplies as compensation. 'He told me he wants to do a deal. I listened to him, and he said: 'I'll bring trucks in for you, five of them you distribute and five of them you sell',' said Nahed Shohaybr, who heads Gaza's transport industry association. He said he rejected the offer.
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Others did not. Traders and truckers said they received similar requests, with one company owner later attempting to buy aid parcels for his family, only to be told they were already sold.
Rationed survival
The foundation's defenders, including Israeli and American officials, argue that the system prevents Hamas from accessing aid and ensures accountability. But its critics say the current model forces Palestinians into impossible choices. Last week, more than 160 charities condemned the system, arguing it forces people to 'starve or risk being shot'.
University student Osama Saber is among those unwilling to make the dangerous journey to the GHF sites. Instead, he makes daily visits to a local market in Nuseirat camp, where he has seen bags of GHF-distributed tahini, flour, and chocolate spread sold at premium prices. 'So we're forced to buy the goods we know are coming in as humanitarian aid,' he said. 'We're buying it for cash at many times its normal price.'
As aid trickles into Gaza under one of the most tightly controlled and controversial systems in recent history, the lines between relief and exploitation continue to blur with deadly consequences.