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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/18/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-economy.html
Goods from Aid Packages on Sale at Inflated Prices in Gaza Markets
(New York Times) Raja Abdulrahim - Wartime vendors lined a street in Deir al Balah, Gaza, selling entire aid parcels - still emblazoned with the flags of their donating countries and meant to be distributed for free. "Most of the goods found in the markets are labeled, 'Not for sale,'" said Issam Hamouda, 51. Humanitarian aid and looted items end up in makeshift markets. Hamouda said that the aid his family occasionally received came from the Hamas-run Ministry of Social Development. He said packages were often missing items - especially sugar, dates or cooking oil. The food items that go missing from aid parcels eventually end up in markets sold at high prices. In the years before the war, the economy in Gaza was beginning to improve, according to economists and Gazan businesspeople. Beachside hotels and restaurants were opening. More Palestinians got permits to work in Israel and earned good salaries. All of those gains - and more - have been lost.