On Sunday, 18 October 2026, Al Jazeera reported from Gaza that commercial shipments had been halted for a fifth consecutive day, since Wednesday. Market prices had risen within two or three days, and families who cannot buy ahead fear a further jump if the crossings stay shut. The piece describes markets and prices, not an aid appeal.

Ismail al-Barawi, 52, from Jabalia, said a carton of eggs had gone from 35 shekels to 60–70, a kilogram of onions from 5–6 to 8–10, and avocados from 7–8 to about 15. He now buys four or five eggs instead of 30. Iman Atallah, 50, displaced in Beit Lahiya, said a sack of flour had reached about 80 shekels, from 25–35 before the halt. Her family sometimes skips breakfast or dinner.

Israel ties the stoppage to fees it attributes to the authorities in Gaza, including Hamas. Gaza's Government Media Office rejected that explanation on Thursday: the 10,000 shekels cited, it said, were a voluntary community fund, and a 30% cash rule had been agreed with the Chamber of Commerce because of a shortage of notes. Each side keeps its version. Neither is judged here.

OCHA wrote in its 2 October report, before this halt, that food prices in September averaged 204% above pre-October 2023 levels. At that time the Gaza Chamber of Commerce had counted 788 commercial trucks in a week, already below the previous average. The early-October report does not describe the current stoppage; we use it as background, not as today's news.

Al-Barawi said that if the closure lasted 10–15 days, a 50kg sack of flour could reach 200 or 300 shekels. That is a market fear, not a quoted price. Vegetables spoil in days, and unreliable power makes storing meat almost impossible.

Those with money stock up. Those without buy day by day and pay the rise. The dispute over fees does not change the fact, checked on the ground by Al Jazeera, that shelves became dearer within a few days.

Image: Moshe Marlin Levin, Gaza Strip, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; archive landscape, not a market on 18 October 2026.

Sources consulted: Gaza families fear food shortages as Israel halts commercial shipments - Al Jazeera; Humanitarian Situation Report, 2 October 2026 - OCHA oPt.