Gaza Price Tracker: what food, water, and rent actually cost
As of July 2026 in Northern Gaza: flour costs $38 per 25 kg bag, trucked water $60 per 1,000 liters, infant formula $28 per 400 g tin, a cooking-gas refill $50, and rent on a damaged two-room apartment $500 per month. A family of four needs about $1,690 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 — Northern Gaza, July 2026
| Item | Unit | Price (USD) | Since June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour | 25 kg bag | $38 | stable |
| Trucked water | 1,000 liters | $60 | needed more often — heat |
| Infant formula | 400 g tin | $28 | up from ~$18 in May |
| Cooking gas refill | cylinder | $50 | rose in June |
| Cooking oil | 1 liter | $9 | stable |
| Rice | 1 kg | $3.80 | stable |
| Lentils | 1 kg | $4.20 | stable |
| Internet & phone | per month | $100 | rose in June |
| 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 — July 2026 | USD / month |
|---|---|
| Rent | $500 |
| Food staples | $420 |
| Trucked water | $300 |
| Cooking gas | $200 |
| Infant formula & diapers | $110 |
| Internet & phone | $100 |
| Medicine & first aid | $60 |
| Total | $1,690 |
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 July 2026
- Water pressure intensified. Fuel shortages repeatedly halted municipal water pumps in July (as reported by UN agencies), pushing more families onto trucked water at $60 per 1,000 liters. In summer heat, a 1,000-liter delivery lasts a family of four about 7 days instead of 10 — effectively raising monthly water costs by a third.
- Formula kept climbing. A 400 g tin that cost around $18 in early May now sells for $28 — a 55% rise in about two months. A seven-month-old goes through a tin roughly every four days.
- June's increases held. The cooking gas and connectivity price rises recorded in June did not reverse; both remain at their elevated levels ($200/month gas, $100/month internet and phone).
- Flour held at $38. Down from its February peak of $45, but still roughly ten times pre-war levels. In February 2026 the same bag moved from $32 to $45 and back within weeks — volatility is itself a cost, because families cannot plan.
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 — July 2026 edition (updated July 18, 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–July 2026)
- Water (1,000 L, trucked): near-free from taps before the war → $60 steady (Feb–July 2026), with rising delivery frequency in summer
- Infant formula (400 g): ~$18 (May 2026) → $28 (June–July 2026)
- Monthly family budget: ~$1,050 (early 2026, per our earliest published budget) → $1,690 (June–July 2026) as water, gas, and connectivity costs rose
About this data
How much does food cost in Gaza right now?
As of July 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.
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.