Cost of Preparing a Single Meal for a Family Has Reached NIS 141 as the Humanitarian Crisis Pushes Families Toward Hunger
The Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) warns that the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, coupled with the continued restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance and essential goods, as well as the suspension of dozens of community kitchens due to the depletion of food supplies, has significantly deepened food insecurity and left thousands of families facing unprecedented levels of deprivation and an inability to meet their most basic needs.
As part of the Ministry's ongoing field monitoring, documented data collected from markets in northern Gaza show that the cost of preparing a single basic meal for a family of five has reached NIS 141 (approximately USD 39). This figure reflects the unprecedented surge in the prices of essential food commodities, making the provision of just one meal per day unaffordable for the vast majority of families.
The estimated cost covers only the minimum ingredients required for a basic meal, including one chicken weighing approximately two kilograms, one kilogram of rice, one litre of cooking oil, limited quantities of basic vegetables, onions, garlic, peppers, spices, and the cost of firewood used for cooking due to the severe shortage of cooking gas, which remains unavailable as restrictions on its entry into the Gaza Strip continue.
The Ministry stresses that these figures are particularly alarming in light of the near-total collapse of livelihoods, the suspension of economic activity, and record-high unemployment rates. As a result, securing NIS 141 each day for a single meal has become impossible for more than 95% of families. Consequently, thousands of households have been forced to reduce the number of daily meals or survive on a single cooked meal each week, while many of the community kitchens that once served as a lifeline for the poorest families have ceased operations.
The Ministry further notes that the continued reduction in the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, together with the limited flow of commodities into local markets, has directly contributed to the dramatic increase in food prices. Food is increasingly becoming inaccessible rather than a basic human right, placing the lives of children, women, and older persons at greater risk and raising serious concerns over worsening hunger and malnutrition across the Gaza Strip.
In line with its national and humanitarian responsibility, the Ministry renews its urgent call to the international community, the United Nations, humanitarian and relief organizations, and donor partners to take immediate action to halt the worsening humanitarian situation. This requires ensuring the free movement of commercial goods through the private sector, preventing monopolistic control over the movement of commodities, eliminating unjustified coordination fees that contribute to higher prices of food and non-food items, and opening all crossings into the Gaza Strip for the unrestricted entry of commercial goods and humanitarian assistance to ensure that markets are adequately supplied with essential food commodities and that prices are reduced.
The Ministry also stresses the urgent need to increase the volume of humanitarian assistance and ensure its regular and equitable distribution to all families. It further calls for immediate support to resume the operation of community kitchens that have been forced to close because of supply shortages and soaring prices, while ensuring the entry of sufficient quantities of cooking gas to ease the burden on families that have been compelled to rely on firewood for cooking, with all the financial, health, and environmental risks this entails.
The Ministry reiterates that the continuation of this situation poses a grave threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and requires immediate and effective international action to ensure the unhindered delivery of food and humanitarian assistance and to safeguard the right of Palestinians to adequate food and a life of dignity in accordance with international humanitarian law.
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