Gaza Price Tracker: what food, water, and rent actually cost
As of August 2026 in Northern Gaza: flour costs $38 per 25 kg bag, trucked water $85 per 1,000 liters (up from $60 in July), infant formula $28 per 400 g tin, a cooking-gas refill $55, and rent on a damaged two-room apartment $500 per month. A family of four needs about $1,820 per month to survive. Every number on this page comes from an actual purchase by one family living there — the Al-Shanti family — documented with photographed receipts and updated monthly.
Street prices for Northern Gaza, August 2026
| Item | Unit | Price (USD) | Since July 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour | 25 kg bag | $38 | stable |
| Trucked water | 1,000 liters | $85 | up from $60, heat and fuel |
| Infant formula | 400 g tin | $28 | steady at $28 |
| Cooking gas refill | cylinder | $55 | up from $50 |
| Cooking oil | 1 liter | $9 | stable |
| Rice | 1 kg | $3.80 | stable |
| Lentils | 1 kg | $4.20 | stable |
| Internet & phone | per month | $100 | stable |
| Rent, damaged 2-room apartment | per month | $500 | stable |
Prices are what the Al-Shanti family actually paid in Northern Gaza markets. Availability swings week to week; a “stable” price does not mean the item is reliably available. For a fuller basket, see Gaza real prices: the complete 2026 dataset.
A family of four's monthly survival budget
| Category, August 2026 | USD / month |
|---|---|
| Rent | $500 |
| Food staples | $420 |
| Trucked water | $420 |
| Cooking gas | $210 |
| Infant formula & diapers | $110 |
| Internet & phone | $100 |
| Medicine & first aid | $60 |
| Total | $1,820 |
Winter months (November–February) run closer to $2,000 with heating costs. Full breakdown: our monthly survival budget, explained line by line.
What changed in August 2026
- Water led the increase. Trucked water rose from about $60 to about $85 per 1,000 liters. Fuel shortages kept the municipal pumps down through the heat, so almost everyone is on the trucks, and the trucks charge more when demand is high and fuel is scarce. With the family using more water in the heat, our monthly water bill went from about $300 to about $420.
- Cooking gas edged up. A refill moved from $50 to about $55, tracking the same fuel scarcity that is pushing water. Small on its own, but it adds to a month that was already tight.
- Food held steady. Flour stayed at $38 for a 25 kg bag and the basic staples did not move, which is the one small mercy this month.
- The total rose to about $1,820. A family of four now needs roughly $1,820 a month to survive, up from $1,690 in July, and nearly all of that rise is water.
Where these numbers come from
This tracker is maintained by Mohammed Z. Al-Shanti, an agricultural engineer living in Northern Gaza with his wife and two children. Prices are recorded from the family's actual purchases in local markets and from water-truck and rent payments, with photographed receipts for major expenses published on the family's GoGetFunding campaign. The family's identity and location are documented on the verification page.
This is deliberately narrow data: one family, one area, real transactions. It does not claim to be a statistical survey of all Gaza prices — it claims to be exact, dated, and verifiable. Aid-agency price reporting works in averages compiled from a distance; this is what a specific family actually paid in a specific week. Both have their place. Only one of them can show you the receipt.
How to cite this data
Al-Shanti Family Gaza Price Tracker, Northern Gaza. donatetogaza.org/gaza-price-tracker, August 2026 edition (updated August 6, 2026). Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Journalists and researchers: these figures are free to reuse with attribution. For questions about a specific price, receipt images, or earlier months' data, contact us through the campaign — we answer personally.
Price history highlights
- Flour (25 kg): ~$4 before the war → $32 (early Feb 2026) → $45 (late Feb peak) → $38 (March to August 2026)
- Water (1,000 L, trucked): near-free from taps before the war → $60 steady (Feb to July 2026) → $85 (August 2026) as heat and fuel shortages pushed demand
- Infant formula (400 g): ~$18 (May 2026) → $28 (June 2026 onward)
- Monthly family budget: ~$1,050 (early 2026) → $1,690 (June to July 2026) → $1,820 (August 2026), the latest rise almost entirely water
About this data
How much does food cost in Gaza right now?
As of August 2026 in Northern Gaza: flour $38 per 25 kg bag, rice $3.80/kg, lentils $4.20/kg, cooking oil $9/liter, infant formula $28 per 400 g tin. A family of four spends roughly $420/month on basic staples alone, before water, rent, gas, or medicine. Water is the line that jumped this month.
Why are Gaza prices so high?
Supply is throttled: limited aid and commercial trucks, destroyed local production (most farmland and greenhouses are damaged), fuel shortages that halt water pumps and raise transport costs, and constant displacement that breaks distribution. When fewer trucks arrive, prices spike within days — we watched flour go from $32 to $45 and back inside a month.
How do you verify these prices?
Every number is a transaction our family actually made. Major expenses — rent, water deliveries, bulk food — have photographed, dated receipts published on our GoGetFunding campaign. Our identity and location are documented on the verification page. If you are a journalist or researcher and want receipt images for a specific line, ask — we will send them.
How often is the tracker updated?
Monthly, with the edition date stamped at the top of the page. Data has been recorded continuously since February 2026; this public tracker page launched with the July 2026 edition.
This data has a family behind it. Help them make the numbers work.
Every price above is a bill our family actually pays. $25 covers a week of water. $50 covers two weeks of food. 100% of PayPal donations reach us — with receipts.