NPR reports:

In northern Gaza’s shattered streets, people buy and sell canned food, small amounts of flour and grain and a few household items in makeshift markets.

Nermeen Tafesh and her five children scour the stalls every day for something affordable to eat, but everything is expensive. With no jobs, most people don’t have an income.

Tafesh is shocked that 2 pounds of rotten-looking potatoes now sells for 40 shekels, more than $10. Two pounds of rice, costing less than $2 before the war, now sells for $20.

She and her kids leave empty-handed, once again.

After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Israel responded first with heavy bombardment in the north. Tafesh was stuck: Most of her family members were in the south, and her husband was away for work. She heard stories of people being killed while trying to evacuate south, so she decided to stay.

“I am now the sole provider for my family, and we have not received any humanitarian aid since the war began,” Tafesh says.

Her oldest son, Yousef Tafesh, 14, helps by searching for wood to make a fire, since Israel has cut off fuel and electricity.

“First there was flour, until it ran out. Then we could get wheat, and that ran out. Then corn kernels. Then we tried animal feed. Now my mom makes us a pudding with water and starch and we eat that,” he says. [Continue reading…]