Struggling for survival: Life amidst the ruins in Rafah

Rafah (Quds News Network) – The main streets of Rafah have transformed into bustling open markets, teeming with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians—individuals who have lost their jobs in their hometowns and are now seeking sources of income to endure the seemingly unending Israeli war.
In the border city of Rafah, adjacent to Egypt, there is no space left untouched as the influx of displaced individuals surges to meet their essential needs. The shock on faces is palpable as they hear about the soaring prices, escalating with the extension of Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and essential life supplies since the onset of the war on October 7th last year.
War alters the priorities of buyers
The war has reshaped the markets in Rafah, altering the priorities of buyers, especially in the face of severe shortages in goods and daily necessities for the 2.2 million residents of the Gaza Strip. Despite the challenges, efforts are underway to create employment opportunities for those arriving from other cities.
Mohammed Al-Han, a Rafah resident, initially purchased minimal goods with 200 shekels (75 dollars), which is an extremely high price in the besieged enclave. Al-Han supports a family of seven, in addition to his parents and three younger siblings, buying and selling goods to both residents and fellow displaced individuals.
For the displaced in Rafah, life is exceptionally challenging, lacking suitable shelter and basic facilities, facing difficulties in obtaining food and medicine.
A vendor amidst the tents
In the midst of tents, young Mohammed Abu Shaawish spends most of his time selling food items and local sweets. He says he barely sleeps a few hours, spending the remaining time gathering and selling goods.
Another youth, Fadi Fora, lost a furniture showroom and a six-story residential building, along with his Land Rover, in Gaza City, as a result of the relentless Israeli aggression. Now, he sells coffee to sustain his family, living with them in a tent in Rafah, now dubbed the “City of Tents.”
He cries out all the time, “Coffee, my dear ones,” stating that he had to work as a coffee seller to secure a livelihood for his family of thirteen.
As for Fadi Fora, the end of the war and the return to the debris of his destroyed home are his only hopes to escape the dismal reality he currently faces.
Skyrocketing prices
The prices of vegetables, meat, and essential food items have skyrocketed, with some items seeing an increase of tenfold or more. Nader Zuhad, a displaced resident from Beit Lahia in the north of the Strip, now living with his family in a tent in Rafah, slaughters sheep and sells their meat to buyers west of Rafah.
He explains that he can barely afford to buy sheep, selling them at double the cost to provide for his family’s basic life requirements. He used to sell a kilogram of sheep meat for 50 shekels, but now it has reached 100 shekels, while the prices for calf and cow meat have surged to 150 shekels per kilogram.
According to Zuhad, Israeli authorities have banned the entry of cows and calves into the Gaza Strip. Many have died either due to hunger or bombings, causing a scarcity of meat in the markets.
In addition to local resources, Palestinians rely on canned food packages, arriving through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt after inspection at an Israeli checkpoint. However, the distribution of these packages has faced severe criticism from displaced individuals, accusing the process of being unfair or selling them at high prices.