Oxfam’s Rapid Needs Assessment found that more than 60% of the affected population report a significant lack of food availability. 48% of the sites Oxfam assessed reported no accessibility to food, and only 4% easy access to food; most people we spoke tostressed that items on the market cost at least 3-5 times (or more) higher than usual. Market observations in early September showed an increase in the prices for eggs (one egg for nearly three USD), tomatoes and other basic foods, as well as a scarcity of meat in SouthernGaza, while in the North, poultry and red meat are totally missing. Any meat availability is usually very temporary, not able to bestored in a temperature-controlled manner and sold for at least 50 USD/kg. Vegetables and fruits are limited and expensive in the North, whilst cooking gas is not available and people rely on firewood for makeshift stoves. Fuel, required to power everything from vehicles to water infrastructure to hospitals and bakeries is limited and entry dependent on Israeli approvals; in the North, for instance, benzene and diesel are sold in the black market for 70 and 25 USD per litre respectively. Across the Gaza Strip, there is a lack of fresh food; food parcels by aid organisations contain dry and canned foods, leading to families relying mainly on canned food for meals for nearly a year. More than 60% of the people we spoke to rely on food aid. While Gazans had access to a variety of foods before the war – e.g. local agriculture and livestock production, their intake has now been significantly reduced to wheat/bread,dried grains and legumes as well as canned products. According to analysis by UNOSAT, due to razing, heavy vehicle activity, bombing, shelling, and other conflict-related dynamics Gaza’s cropland alsosustained significant damage, with 65% of permanent crop fieldsin the Gaza Strip (97.6 out of 150.5 square kilometres) exhibiting a decline in health and density. The lack of food and food diversity has led to more than half of the population resorting to eating only two meals a day, with 30% of respondents in our assessment stating that they only manage to eat one meal a day. 80% of people cope with the food shortages by reducing their meal size. Whilemarkets continue to function with very limitedcapacity and the majority of people can access the markets by foot – albeit any routein Gaza being unsafe due to active military activity - 92% of the people we spoke to stated that the roads to the markets are damaged or destroyed and thus also deemed unsafe. The war has also affected the labour market, people losing/not finding work and having no money to pay for workers. All the above is affected by the availability of cash in Gaza and fluctuations in liquidity. Less than10% of ATMs remain operational in Gaza, due to the continued hostilities, evacuation orders, the breakdown of law and order, physical obstacles, a shortage in armoured vehicles to carry cash and limited access to fuel. Palestinians try to cope by transferring money to businesses orprivate individuals in exchange for cash, paying exorbitant commission rates. NRC found that others use ID cards - their sole proof of identity—as collateral for cash, leading to exploitation. Consequently, people are not able to meet their basic needs, are made over reliant on aid and the local economy suffers as a whole; additionally humanitarian organisations have difficulties in covering operational costs, supporting staff with salary advances, and any cash programming is severely undermined.