Deir el-Balah/Gaza City – When Hani Abu Issa headed to the Deir el-Balah market on Saturday morning, he was not carrying a long shopping list. His only intention was to buy ingredients for his family’s Ramadan iftar meal, nothing more.
But the sight of the crowds gathering in front of the grocery stores took him by surprise and prompted him to ask what was happening.
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A passerby told him that Israel had attacked Iran and war had broken out.
Hani was surprised to see the people around him leaving one after another, carrying bags of flour on their shoulders and buying all the food and goods they could get.
This is how the first hours of the military confrontation between Israel, joined by the United States, and Iran unfolded in Gaza.
The scene in the enclave changed completely as people from all over rushed to the market to buy sugar, flour, cooking oil and yeast.
The shelves began to empty and the price of essential goods increased.
Hani, 51, a father of five, told Al Jazeera that he believes the war between Israel and the United States with Iran “will not directly affect Gaza.” But he admits that the people of Gaza can no longer react calmly to any military development in the region.
“People are afraid of everything. Since morning, everyone rushed to the markets to accumulate stocks, which caused shortages of many products and an increase in prices,” he said, in front of food stalls in the Deir el-Balah market in central Gaza.
Anxiety among residents intensified after COGAT, the Israeli body that manages the Palestinian territory, posted a statement on its Facebook page on Saturday afternoon announcing the closure of crossings leading to Gaza and the occupied West Bank “until further notice,” in light of security developments related to the war with Iran.
Hani said the possibility of the crossings remaining closed worried him deeply.
“Flour, sugar, cooking oil and yeast… were the first products to disappear from the market due to high demand,” he said.
“I lived through the famine (during Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza) like everyone else. The worst days were when I had to buy a bag of flour for more than 1,000 shekels ($319). I don’t want to relive that experience.”
He said building up reserves while crossings remained closed was not a viable solution.
“Products sell out quickly and the conditions we live in can ruin everything we store. All we need is someone to assure us that the closure of the crossings will not last.
“Someone tell us it won’t affect us.”
Local sources reported that the cross closures were related to the Jewish holiday of Purim, creating confusion over its duration.
“We cannot be sure or confirm anything. Israel’s word cannot be trusted and no specific duration was given,” Hani added in frustration.
“Gaza has not recovered from two years of war and famine. The only thing I think about now is traveling and going with my two daughters to live in another country. That is enough.”
Around the same time last year, during Ramadan last March, Palestinians in Gaza endured one of the harshest phases of the war after crossings were closed and goods were prevented from entering for prolonged periods, leading to shortages in food supplies and price increases that led to the spread of famine.
Israel’s famine policy at the time faced widespread condemnation. Markets became empty spaces, flour prices soared to record levels, and people died from severe malnutrition.
Justified fear
At the Nuseirat market, where people are still frantically buying food, vendor Omar Al-Ghazali, 28, told Al Jazeera that the experience of the famine has left a deep psychological impact.
“People’s fear is completely justified. They were shocked and scared and want to protect themselves. They learned from the previous experience of famine and the fear of hoarding by traders,” said the father of four.
“Today, although the war is not taking place in Gaza, the fear of a repetition of the famine scenario seems stronger than any logical analysis of the regional situation,” he added.
“We can’t tell people not to buy. What happened to them was extremely difficult. We try to convince ourselves that everything is fine and that no one will be affected, but the fear is stronger.”
‘Where would we store it?’
Not everyone can afford to accumulate reserves.
Asmaa Abu Al-Khair, 38, wandered through the Gaza City market on Sunday, visibly confused. Mother of eight children, she wants to stock up, but lacks financial capacity and space.
“Where would we keep it? And what would I keep? We need everything and we can barely provide ourselves with our daily food during Ramadan,” he told Al Jazeera as he walked empty-handed through the market.
“I feel great anxiety. Everyone is talking about it, about the attack by Iran and the closure of the crossings, and I can’t afford to buy what I need, and at the same time I’m afraid that famine will return. I have small children,” she said sadly.
Asmaa said many displaced families living in nearby tents face the same reality, as they “don’t have the money to buy supplies or the space to store them inside the tents.”
“We endured a lot of hardship during the war, and it only ended with the announcement of a ceasefire. So why close the crossing now? What do we have to do with what is happening? Is what we witnessed not enough? Why play on people’s nerves?”
Until yesterday afternoon, Asmaa had hoped that the crossings would not be closed and that everything would continue as before. Then the announcement came.
“I felt like a stab in the heart. I went to sleep with deep frustration,” he said bitterly.
Mohammed Daher, 46, from Jabalia, who is now displaced and living in Deir el-Balah, said he had been living the spirit of Ramadan “calmly and peacefully,” without war or gunshots for the first time in two years, until news of the war with Iran broke.
“I found myself lost again. But I decided not to accumulate anything,” he told Al Jazeera while walking through the market.
“We’re exhausted. I’ve reached a point where I’ve gotten used to all the scenarios,” he said desperately. “Israel is looking for any pretext to once again starve Gaza residents and deepen its humanitarian crisis.”
Daher said he had spent most of his money during the previous famine buying basic foodstuffs at inflated prices.
“Everything had a price of gold… if you could find it. Today, I have no strength left to endure that torment again. Whatever happens, let it happen.”
Deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza
There was widespread reaction to the Israeli closure decision on social media, as Palestinians questioned whether they were on the verge of an even tougher phase of Israel’s deal. Many people accused Israel of closing the crossings to push Palestinians into greater famine and collective suffering.
Some wondered if Israel was seizing the moment to create more suffering for Palestinians in Gaza while the world was distracted by the war with Iran.
Ali al-Hayek, a member of the Palestinian Businessmen Association in Gaza, warned that closing the crossings could halt the distribution of aid to struggling families and put a pause on charity kitchens. It would also hamper urgent medical travel abroad, particularly for those who are injured, critically ill or living with chronic illnesses, such as cancer.
He noted that Gaza’s economy has already shrunk by more than 85 percent due to Israel’s genocidal war, with the majority of the population pushed below the poverty line, unemployment reaching nearly 80 percent and more than 97 percent of industrial facilities ceasing operations.
Al-Hayek called on the international community to immediately intervene and pressure the Israeli side to reopen the crossings and restore their normal operations, while ensuring the freedom of movement of people and goods.
But he also said it’s important for merchants not to use shortages to raise prices. It is Ramadan time, he emphasized, and Palestinians must show solidarity now more than ever.
