Following a visit to the Gaza Strip, the World Hunger Aid organization (Welthungerhilfe) has strongly condemned the massive increase in the cost of basic foodstuffs and urged for faster humanitarian aid deliveries. Mathias Mogge, the organization’s Secretary-General, stated in interviews with the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland,” that prices are currently eight to ten times higher than they were before the war began.
The soaring costs are evident in specific essentials: cucumbers now cost four US dollars, up dramatically from just 30 cents, while tomatoes have risen to five dollars from their previous price of 50 cents. Furthermore, the cost of bread has doubled. Compounding this severe economic crisis is the fact that most people in the region have almost no income, resulting in widespread dependence on external food assistance.
Mogge stressed the urgent need for increased deliveries and aid to alleviate the acute suffering. He emphasized that essential food supplies must be provided, alongside necessary improvements to water and sanitation services.
Looking ahead, Mogge argued that true resilience requires tackling the root economic issues. To make the residents of Gaza independent of aid, the local economy must be revitalized. This, he concluded, requires comprehensive economic reconstruction and the increased entry of vital goods into the Gaza Strip.
