Hamas-controlled Gaza is complaining that Israel is making them “gain weight.” After two years of war and near-famine, markets have reopened under a ceasefire — but the local terrorists and residents say that the shelves are stacked with chocolates, soda, and cigarettes instead of life-sustaining goods.
Monther al-Shrafi, a Gaza City resident, said he now sees aisles “overflowing with chocolate, soft drinks, and cigarettes, items that once felt like a ‘dream’ during the famine.” But the basics, he insisted, are nowhere to be found. “Can you imagine that there is chocolate in Gaza while there are no antibiotics? Or there are fruits but no wound dressings or sutures?” he asked Middle East Eye. “Here in Gaza, there is a shortage, or even near absence, of essential items that the human body needs, such as meat, chicken, fish, and eggs, which are basic components of a healthy diet.”
Following the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing for the first time since March 2, when its closure triggered a humanitarian crisis in the Strip. With limited aid and goods now trickling in, some food staples have reappeared — but others remain tightly controlled.
Trucks have brought in wheat flour, rice, pasta, semolina, potatoes, and canned vegetables. Stores are also seeing sugary imports: chocolate, jam, butter, processed cheese, and soft drinks. But animal protein remains scarce. Eggs are nonexistent, dairy products rare, and frozen meat prohibitively expensive. When available, a single kilogram of frozen chicken costs roughly 80 shekels, or about $25.
“I don’t feel any improvement in the food situation [after the ceasefire], because the items available in Gaza are unhealthy,” Shrafi said. “Canned and dried foods cannot replace basic natural foods like eggs and fresh meat. So there is no recovery from the effects of famine.”
The medical situation is even worse. Shrafi said he went “from pharmacy to pharmacy” looking for medicine but came up empty-handed. “My daughter suffered from an infection in her toe, and I could not even find painkillers to ease her suffering,” he said. “Antibiotic pills are missing, and if available, they are sold at exorbitant prices far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, who have been crushed over two years of ongoing extermination. Pharmacies, medical supply stores, and hospital departments in Gaza are completely empty of many essential items that patients need.”
Officials from Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health accuse Israel of continuing to restrict medical shipments even after the ceasefire. “These persistent restrictions have led to shortages in drugs reaching 56 percent, while shortages in medical consumables are at 68 percent, and laboratory supplies at 67 percent,” said Zahir al-Wahidi, director of the Health Information Unit. “Orthopaedic surgeries face an 83 percent shortage, open-heart surgeries 100 percent, and kidney services and bone fixators 80 percent. The most severe gaps are in emergency services, anaesthesia, intensive care, and medications for surgical procedures.”
Gaza traders must obtain Israeli permission to import goods. Items can be blocked through outright bans or indefinitely delayed applications. Wahidi said that “what has entered over the past year is only a fraction of what is needed, six or seven small shipments that do not cover the requirements for a large number of drugs and consumables, which should cover two years of deprivation.”
In recent weeks, the influx of trucks has revived Gaza’s markets, filling streets with color and activity for the first time in months. Vendors are selling chocolates, coffee, and fruits, creating the illusion of recovery. But according to local lawyer and researcher Abdallah Sharshara, this apparent abundance hides a nutritional crisis. “Most of these goods consist of carbohydrates, sugars, and starches,” he told MEE. “These include flour and various types of cheese used in sweets and pizza, in addition to sugar and flour derivatives used in confectionery production.”
Sharshara argued that Israel is intentionally steering consumption toward unhealthy imports. “It is clear that this focus on importing such items indirectly pushes people to rely on them as their main food source, while also forcing humanitarian organisations to focus on purchasing and distributing these products, as they are the only ones available in the local market,” he said.
He also claimed Israel’s import policy aims to manipulate appearances. “There is now an abnormal increase in people’s weight. It appears that the Israeli occupation is trying to conceal the crime of starving Palestinians by creating an opposite image, one of rapid and unnatural weight gain,” Sharshara said.
Sharshara said he personally lost 20 kilograms during the height of the blockade but has recently gained much of it back. “I had lost weight because of the limited and repetitive food options we were forced to eat throughout the past year,” he said. “Now, I eat the same portions, but they lead to weight gain because I am compelled to consume carbohydrates, processed cheese, and manufactured meat, that’s what’s available. They’re forcing us to gain weight systematically.”
Social media users in Gaza have echoed those claims, saying that while candy and soda are back, meat, eggs, and medical goods remain unavailable. “Israel is creating a misleading impression that the blockade on the Palestinian people has been lifted, as people are now eating a lot of pizza and sweets, giving the illusion of comfort or abundance,” Sharshara said. “Fresh meat and eggs are still banned from entering Gaza, and fishermen are only allowed to fish within a very limited maritime area. The goal of allowing goods to enter partially is to prevent anyone from claiming that Israel is blocking them completely. But in reality, when you divide these goods by the actual needs of the population, the per-person share is extremely small. That’s why we say that even if Israel allows some goods in, they do not truly reach the people.”
For Hamas and its residents, it seems that while the famine may have ended, their war against Israel still comes at a cost — one measured not in hunger, but in the hollow calories of a siege built on sugar and deprivation.
{Matzav.com}
