The Costs of War
The New York Times
Overall Assessment
The article investigates wartime price inflation in Gaza through a human-interest lens, centering on a London-based man supporting his family. It exposes alleged profiteering linked to Israeli trade policies and a smuggling network, but frames the story morally rather than systemically. While well-sourced in parts, it omits broader context and relies on emotionally charged language.
"The Costs of War"
Headline / Body Mismatch
Headline & Lead 50/100
The headline is vague and generic, failing to signal the article's specific focus on Gaza's wartime economy and profiteering. The lead paragraph abruptly shifts to a personal anecdote without clearly connecting to the headline or setting up the investigative focus.
✕ Headline / Body Mismatch: The headline 'The Costs of War' is broad and could apply to any war, but the article focuses narrowly on economic profiteering and price inflation in Gaza, not the broader human or geopolitical costs. This creates a disconnect between expectation and content.
"The Costs of War"
Language & Tone 70/100
The tone leans slightly toward advocacy, using emotionally charged language to highlight suffering and profiteering. While not overtly polemical, it favors a moral narrative over dispassionate economic analysis.
✕ Loaded Adjectives: The term 'shadowy profiteers' carries strong negative connotation, implying moral judgment and criminality without nuance.
"shadowy profiteers"
✕ Loaded Labels: Describing a figure as 'a figure who goes by the code name Abu Basel' frames him in a criminal or espionage context, reinforcing the 'shadowy' narrative.
"a figure who goes by the code name Abu Basel"
✕ Passive-Voice Agency Obfuscation: The passive construction 'the Israeli police arrived' avoids specifying who authorized or directed the operation, obscuring institutional responsibility.
"the Israeli police arrived at a warehouse where Abu Basel’s associate was supervising the loading of trucks."
✕ Sympathy Appeal: The narrative centers on Saleh's personal financial burden and emotional distress, evoking empathy but potentially at the expense of systemic analysis.
"Saleh Abu Shamala, a 34-year-old man in London, has gone $125,000 into debt to keep his family in Gaza alive during the war."
Balance 65/100
The article uses diverse and credible sources but relies too heavily on anonymous testimony and does not include official Israeli economic or trade officials to balance the narrative.
✓ Comprehensive Sourcing: The article draws on multiple sources including Gazan merchants, a Palestinian economic group (PalTrade), an Israeli indictment, and an investigative nonprofit (OCCRP), showing methodological diligence.
"We learned of Abu Basel’s role through interviews with Gazan traders, and through an Israeli indictment of one of Abu Basel’s associates."
✓ Proper Attribution: Key claims are well-sourced, such as Ruwa Jabr’s quote on price inflation and the reference to an Israeli indictment.
"Ruwa Jabr, the chief executive of PalTrade, a group that focuses on Palestinian economic development, told us that the prices continued to rise as different brokers took cuts along the way."
✕ Anonymous Source Overuse: Reliance on unnamed sources, such as the merchant who feared for his safety, reduces transparency and accountability.
"One merchant, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety, showed us a receipt for fees he was paying"
Story Angle 60/100
The story is framed as a moral exposé of wartime profiteering, foregrounding individual actors over systemic forces. This risks reducing a complex political economy to a tale of good vs. evil.
✕ Framing by Emphasis: The story emphasizes individual profiteering and moral outrage over structural or policy-level analysis of trade restrictions, narrowing the scope of accountability.
"Israel chose a handful of Gazan businessmen who were permitted to import goods. Small merchants started paying steep fees to those chosen businesses for every truckload of goods."
✕ Narrative Framing: The article follows a moral arc: suffering family → corrupt system → shadowy villains → investigative revelation, which simplifies a complex economic reality.
"While families like Saleh’s struggled to pay for essentials, though, others were beginning to cash in."
Completeness 55/100
The article offers investigative depth on profiteering but lacks broader historical, political, or economic context about Gaza’s trade system, especially in relation to the wider regional war.
✕ Missing Historical Context: The article does not explain the pre-war trade system in Gaza, nor the long-standing Israeli restrictions, making it harder to assess whether current practices are new or intensified.
✕ Cherry-Picking: Focuses on extreme price increases (e.g., eggs from $2.50 to $130) without providing data on average inflation or availability of substitutes, potentially exaggerating the scope.
"A kilo of eggs, which once cost $2.50, went up to $130."
✓ Contextualisation: Provides some context through Ruwa Jabr’s explanation of markup chains, helping readers understand how small fees compound into massive price increases.
"A shipment that should cost 100 shekels ends up costing 20,000 shekels or more."
Portrays border controls as dysfunctional and enabling corruption
Narrative framing and loaded adjectives depict the system as corrupt and arbitrary rather than security-focused
"The scarcer it is in Gaza, the higher the coordination fee."
Portrays the population as under severe economic threat
Loaded adjectives and extreme price examples create a sense of crisis and vulnerability
"A kilo of eggs, which once cost $2.50, went up to $130."
Frames the situation in Gaza as an ongoing economic emergency caused by military conflict
Cherry-picking of extreme price increases and sympathy appeal reinforce a narrative of systemic collapse
"A kilogram of flour went from 50 cents to $27. A kilo of eggs, which once cost $2.50, went up to $130. Cooking gas climbed from $2 per kilo to $190."
Frames Israel as enabling hostile economic actions in Gaza
Passive voice agency obfuscation and framing by emphasis place responsibility on Israeli-controlled trade policies without counter-narrative
"Israel chose a handful of Gazan businessmen who were permitted to import goods. Small merchants started paying steep fees to those chosen businesses for every truckload of goods."
Implies trade restrictions and selective enforcement violate norms of fairness and legality
Use of anonymous sources and passive voice to describe police intervention suggests institutional complicity and lack of accountability
"After Abu Basel spoke to one of the officers on the phone, the police released the smugglers and left."
The article investigates wartime price inflation in Gaza through a human-interest lens, centering on a London-based man supporting his family. It exposes alleged profiteering linked to Israeli trade policies and a smuggling network, but frames the story morally rather than systemically. While well-sourced in parts, it omits broader context and relies on emotionally charged language.
An investigation into Gaza’s wartime economy reveals that Israeli trade restrictions and a network of approved importers have led to soaring prices for essentials. Journalists traced price hikes to layered fees and a black market, including a smuggling operation linked to Israeli security contacts. The system has placed immense financial strain on families trying to survive the conflict.
The New York Times — Conflict - Middle East
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The New York Times
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