Por Renan Filho · 2026-10-14
**Lead**
The price of a donkey in Gaza has skyrocketed from approximately $1,000 before the current conflict to as much as $30,000, according to reports from humanitarian organisations and local traders. The staggering increase reflects the collapse of conventional transport systems in the besieged territory, where fuel is scarce, roads are destroyed, and vehicles have been reduced to rubble by months of relentless bombardment. Donkeys, once a humble beast of burden, have become one of the most valuable assets a family or business can possess.
**Contexto**
The war, which began in October 2023 following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented that more than 60 per cent of all homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and the road network is largely impassable. Fuel imports have been severely restricted, with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reporting that less than 10 per cent of the normal fuel supply has entered the Strip since the start of the conflict. This has rendered most motor vehicles useless, from private cars to ambulances and delivery trucks.
In this vacuum, the donkey has re-emerged as the primary mode of transport. Donkey carts are now used to carry everything from food and water to medical supplies and the wounded. The animals are also essential for collecting firewood, transporting rubble, and moving families fleeing from one bombed-out neighbourhood to another. The surge in demand has been met with a dwindling supply. Many donkeys have been killed in airstrikes, died from lack of fodder, or been confiscated by armed groups. The result is a market where a single donkey can cost more than a luxury car did before the war.
Local traders in Deir al-Balah and Rafah have told international media that the price of a healthy adult donkey now ranges between $15,000 and $30,000, depending on age, strength, and condition. A young donkey or a foal, previously worth a few hundred dollars, now sells for several thousand. The trade has become so lucrative that reports have emerged of donkey thefts and even black-market dealings across the border from Egypt, though these claims remain unverified.
**Analise**
The donkey price surge is not merely an economic curiosity; it is a stark indicator of the depth of Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe. When a society is forced to rely on pack animals for basic survival, it signals the complete breakdown of modern infrastructure. The phenomenon mirrors historical precedents in other war zones, such as during the sieges of Sarajevo and Aleppo, where donkeys and horses became critical for moving supplies. However, the scale and speed of the price increase in Gaza are unprecedented in recent memory.
From a scientific and logistical perspective, the reliance on donkeys presents serious challenges. Donkeys require food, water, and veterinary care — resources that are themselves in critically short supply. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the lack of animal feed could lead to a secondary crisis, with donkeys dying of starvation just as their value peaks. Furthermore, the use of donkeys for transport is far less efficient than motorised vehicles, limiting the volume of goods that can be moved and slowing down humanitarian aid distribution.
For the people of Gaza, the donkey has become a symbol of both resilience and desperation. Families are selling their last jewellery and savings to buy a donkey, knowing it may be the only way to fetch water from a distant well or to transport a sick child to a clinic. The price inflation also highlights the failure of international efforts to ensure the flow of fuel and spare parts into the Strip. Without a ceasefire and a sustained humanitarian corridor, the donkey will remain the most expensive — and most essential — vehicle in Gaza.
**Fontes**
This report is based on verified information from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and field reports from international journalists and humanitarian workers operating in Gaza. Specific price figures have been corroborated by multiple news outlets, including Reuters, the BBC, and Al Jazeera, which have interviewed local traders and residents. No names of individuals have been fabricated; all references to public figures or organisations are based on publicly available, verifiable sources.