GAZA: Lean times for holiday shoppers

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Border closures that followed Hamas’ violent takeover in the Gaza Strip have depleted supplies of everything from cement to cigarettes. Parents hoping to buy gifts for their children to celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan are finding slim pickings.

Ramadan ends Friday or Saturday with the traditional feast, called Eid al Fitr, that typically includes gifts for children. Popular items such as sweets and clothing are in short supply as a result of the shutdown in shipments through the main cargo crossing from Israel, which has been sealed since mid-June. Israel cited security reasons in closing the Karni crossing, but it has permitted limited shipments of basic foodstuffs and medicine through other crossings.

Most merchandise sold in Gaza comes from Israel, though a lot of the candy is produced in places like Turkey and imported through the Jewish state. For the first time in memory, many Gaza shoppers are unable to find favored chocolates. Parents go store to store in search of children’s shoes and clothing, but what is left in the depleted stocks is months old and unfit for the fall season.

The withered economy has left few people with money to shop with, anyway. The markets, usually jammed with buyers near the end of Ramadan, are uncrowded. A sign of the hard times is that it’s remarkably easy to find parking next to the main market on Omar al-Mukhtar Street, one of Gaza’s main boulevards.

— Rushdi abu Alouf in Gaza City and Ken Ellingwood in Jerusalem