‘Money has become meaningless’ in Gaza
Many Gazans already lived in poverty before the war. Now, even those with money have found the conflict to be a terrible equaliser as they hunt in vain for shelter and basic supplies. Since fleeing to the south of Gaza, Mohammed al Mahdun, 36, has been looking for an apartment in Rafah near the Egyptian border for his two young children and 11 members of his extended family.
He would happily spend $1,000 a month — a small fortune by Gazan standards — but nothing is available.
“We’re not looking for anything fancy... but money has become meaningless,” Mahdun, an accountant, said.
Mahdun and his family fled Gaza City after their house was hit by an Israeli strike, he said.
With no fuel available, they had to leave their car behind and had no time to grab belongings. Mahdun eventually bought two items of winter clothing for three times the normal price.
“We came here on a journey of suffering and humiliation that is indescribable and impossible to forget. All the money in the world cannot compensate for what we went through,” he said.
“I feel helpless when my son asks me for something. He wants chocolate and crisps and I would pay any price to buy them for him, but it’s just not available. How will a child understand that the problem doesn’t come from me?”
Gazans have been fleeing south in their tens of thousands by any means necessary — car, truck, horse-drawn cart, or on foot — turning Rafah into a sea of tents and makeshift shelters of wood and plastic sheeting.
There is no end in sight for the war, which began with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, triggering an Israeli air and ground offensive that has left Gaza in ruins and killed more than 18,400 people according to the health ministry.
Conditions for the poor have been powerfully documented by aid groups.