“The shelves are empty, this is crazy. We did not find water or flour. Flour has disappeared from the country and everyone is rushing to stock up on supplies,” Rawan tells Sky News Arabia as she describes a scene in the shops of the city where she lives in central Israel, after the authorities issued orders to the people. To provide them with food, water, and medicine sufficient for a full 72 hours.
Empty shelves were not only caused by panic and people’s fear of the unknown surrounding them, but rather it is the result of an almost complete logistical paralysis in the industrial sector due to the complete military mobilization imposed by the war, as the Israeli army called up 360,000 soldiers from the reserve forces, hundreds of whom occupy basic professions in a series of… Supply, in factories, shipping, distribution and management of the industrial sector. In addition, the closure of schools forced many mothers and fathers to stay at home to care for children who were left without care indefinitely.
In the context of dealing with the crisis, the head of the Association of Manufacturers in Israel, Ron Tomer, told the economic newspaper “The Marker” that “the industry sector is trying to work with the IDF and the Ministry of Economy to allow essential workers for the economy to be exempt from military service,” at a time when Israel faces several threats. Fronts.
Tomer added that employers are trying to “extend working hours for workers who want to work more, and there are efforts to expand the granting of permits to foreign workers who are currently in Israel without work, such as agricultural workers in the south.”
30 eggs per person and the bananas are gone
Panic may prompt people to hoard goods as a way to relieve stress, but the sight of empty shelves and crowds of people rushing into stores fuels the stress even more and turns panic into a vicious cycle. In an effort to alleviate the crisis and provide goods to a greater number of people, the largest retail chain in Israel, Shoppersal, set a maximum limit for the purchase of basic goods in an official announcement: 30 eggs per customer, 36 liters of water, 3 liters of milk, and 2 loaves of bread.
For his part, Karam, who works in one of the famous retail chains, describes to Sky News Arabia the situation in the store where he works. “There is a severe shortage of manpower. Customers are constantly rushing to empty the store of water, pasta, flour, canned food, and prepared foods. They have emptied the next load even before we enter the store.”
Gaza Strip…in numbers
He continues: “The store is full of snacks and snacks that no one seems to need in these circumstances. We were also surprised that the bananas disappeared! We do not even receive bananas from the supplier.”
“The Marker” quoted one of the largest marketing chains in Israel as saying that it witnessed a jump of about 300% in the sale of bread, bread substitutes, canned food, and baby formula, and it also recorded increases of more than 200% in the sale of diapers and snacks.
It is noteworthy that the Gaza Strip settlements in southern Israel rely heavily on agriculture, and are a primary source for supplying vegetables, fruits, and meat to the Israeli market. Its agricultural development is one of the projects of the Netanyahu government after the 2014 war, with the aim of developing it economically and encouraging people to live there.
Exploiting the crisis
In a video clip circulating on social media platforms, an Israeli woman screams at an employee at Shoppersal because of the rise in prices coinciding with the war and the supply crisis, and the cancellation of the discounts that were supposed to remain in effect until the end of this month, in what she considered “exploitation of the crisis.” For her part, Rawan confirmed to Sky News Arabia that they noticed the sudden increase in prices, and it was noted that discounts for soldiers only were maintained.
Following the state of panic that invaded the market, the army spokesman was forced to issue an amended statement to calm people’s fears, stating that the instructions issued were “general recommendations” and to raise awareness, but it was too late as the stores emptied within a few hours of the first statement.
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2023-10-10 16:44:57
