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Yousef al-Lahham, 54, walked through the Khan Younis market last week looking for food, but was unable to find anything even remotely affordable. Prices for basic necessities in the Gaza Strip have continued to rise ever since the U.S. and Israel started their war on Iran. For Palestinians in Gaza, who have lived through repeated waves of food shortages, man-made famine, and soaring food prices, this all feels familiar. Gazans have begun to face difficulties in piecing together enough food to make a proper meal for their families, al-Lahham tells Mondoweiss, raising fears that famine might soon return to the Strip.

In late February, the Israeli government ordered the total closure of all border crossings into Gaza as the Iran war started, which included cutting off food and humanitarian aid. Prices immediately skyrocketed, further exacerbated by people flooding markets to stock up on necessities in anticipation of eventual shortages.

On March 3, Israel began allowing small quantities of food into the Strip through the Karam Abu Salem crossing in the south, while the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Zikim crossing in the north have both remained closed. Yet the number of trucks allocated to enter in a single day — over 200 carrying dairy products, soft drinks, fruits, vegetables, chocolate, frozen food, cookies, and cakes — was spread across the first two weeks of March. Between March 1 and March 10, a total of 214 trucks entered, effectively reducing the daily count to 40-50 trucks.

On March 6, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the closure of the crossings raised concerns about “the availability of humanitarian supplies and services, and private sector goods.”

The closures have not only affected the entry of aid, fuel, and commercial supplies, but also extend to the “coordination of humanitarian movements in and near areas where Israeli troops remain deployed, medical evacuations, the return of residents from abroad, and the........

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