DEIR AL-BALAH — Every morning, 14-year-old Abdullah al-Basoos leaves his dilapidated tent in Deir al-Balah and heads to the open market to try to find food for his mother and five siblings. As the eldest child, al-Basoos is responsible for making sure everyone gets something to eat. His father, who stayed behind after the rest of the family fled their home in the al-Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City at the outset of Israel’s genocidal assault, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Al-Basoos now spends much of the day manning a makeshift stall selling staple items like sugar, salt, and rice to try and earn some money to buy food for his family. But with skyrocketing prices and a severe cash shortage across Gaza, like many Palestinians he now finds himself having to barter.
Last week, he couldn’t afford to purchase a small amount of white cheese, which at 12 shekels (approximately $4) was too overpriced. He ended up trading some halva for the cheese at a nearby stall. He had done these types of exchanges many times before, like bartering sugar for cooking oil—trading one staple item for another in a desperate bid to survive. …..more
