Can't find a PS5 console? Just head to Gaza City
The Guardian Weekly|December 17, 2021
It is surrounded on all sides, regularly bombed, and plagued by shortages of vital medicines. Yet in the lead-up to Christmas, the isolated Gaza Strip has had ample supplies of something the rest of the world craves but can rarely find: a brand new PlayStation 5. Sony’s flagship video game console is hot property this holiday season, although most people who have asked for one will be disappointed on Christmas morning.
Hazem Balousha GAZA CITY and Oliver Holmes
Can't find a PS5 console? Just head to Gaza City

A global supply-chain crisis twinned with a shortage of semiconductors – vital computer chips used in the console – has kept stock scarce. While secondhand, resold and stolen PS5 s can be found, they are rare and often cost much more than the retail price tag of about $ 500.

In Gaza City, the price is also way above the official figure. Still, brand new PS5s can be seen in a few shop windows.

Hassan al-Baik, who runs an electronics outlet, has five consoles but says he has trouble selling them in the impoverished enclave. “There is no great demand for the devices in Gaza because their prices are still high,” he said. Baik says his few customers are mostly gaming cafes, makeshift arcades that cover the steep price by charging Palestinians to play.

This story is from the December 17, 2021 edition of The Guardian Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 17, 2021 edition of The Guardian Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIAN WEEKLYView All
Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The Guardian Weekly

Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma

The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 13, 2024
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
The Guardian Weekly

Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom

SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 13, 2024
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
The Guardian Weekly

'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler

Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses

time-read
2 mins  |
September 13, 2024
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
The Guardian Weekly

Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute

Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 13, 2024
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
The Guardian Weekly

'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading

After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"

time-read
2 mins  |
September 13, 2024
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
The Guardian Weekly

Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato

I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.

time-read
1 min  |
September 13, 2024
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
The Guardian Weekly

Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?

Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US

time-read
1 min  |
September 13, 2024
Going underground
The Guardian Weekly

Going underground

A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate

time-read
3 mins  |
September 13, 2024
All work and no play
The Guardian Weekly

All work and no play

Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies

time-read
4 mins  |
September 13, 2024
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
The Guardian Weekly

What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege

It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 13, 2024