Ramallah - Saba:
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics announced a sharp increase in consumer prices in the Gaza Strip by 75.59% compared to March 2025, due to the resumption of the Israeli aggression and the closure of commercial crossings for the second consecutive month.
The PCBS explained in a statement issued Wednesday, as reported by the Palestinian WAFA News Agency, that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) also rose by 0.24% in Quds, while the index declined by 0.13% in the West Bank, pushing the overall CPI in Palestine up by 30.72%.
The PCBS noted that price levels generally experience sharp fluctuations between increases and decreases in the Gaza Strip, linked to developments in the Israeli aggression and the movement of commercial crossings, rather than changes resulting from the interaction of market factors. Therefore, their impact on the overall CPI in the Palestinian territories is significant.
The PCBS stressed the need to take these data into account when reading the cost of living index, and to focus on changes in the cost of living at the regional level to determine the true extent of these changes, given the specific nature of this exceptional period.
It noted that the average of the overall CPI for the Palestinian territories cannot be used to represent the average changes across different regions, given the sharp variation in data across regions and their significant impact on price changes in the Gaza Strip.
The Bureau explained that price levels are still higher than those in April of the previous year. Comparing prices in April 2025 with April 2024, the data indicates a 35.77% increase in the consumer price index in Palestine (91.61% in the Gaza Strip, 1.46% in Quds, and 0.28% in the West Bank).
The consumer price index in the Gaza Strip also recorded a sharp increase of 75.59% in April 2025 compared to March 2025.
The closure of commercial crossings for the second consecutive month and the continued prohibition of the entry of various consumer goods into Gaza markets have led to a significant shortage of goods offered for sale in the markets, driving up prices.
It is also worth noting that Palestinian civil society organizations have been unable to bring any humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, nor have they been able to distribute flour to Palestinian families or even to bakeries operating with the support of these organizations.
This has led to a shortage of white flour, the closure of many bakeries, and a crisis in flour prices.
The highest price for a 25-kilogram bag of flour was recorded at approximately 625 shekels in the Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah governorates. Furthermore, the disappearance of "Kamaj" bread from the Gaza Strip markets coincided with the denial of fuel or even cooking gas to the Gaza Strip markets, exacerbating the situation.
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