Only 41 percent of Gaza’s food import needs being met

"You need to make sure that it doesn't kick people with its back legs, that it's strong and that the colour of the coat is all right," said Saber Dabour, 25. He had just bought a donkey for 410 Jordanian dinars, or just under £290.

For, while working donkeys have been bought and sold in Gaza since before Samson pulled down the Philistines' temple, it is a long time since they have been as valuable as they are now. Prices have risen, according to the traders, by up to 60 per cent since Israel closed off the enclave after Hamas's enforced takeover of the Strip almost six months ago.

Yet despite that – and, he says, that the donkey feed has also gone up from five to 15 shekels (£1.95) a day since June – Mr Sabour has decided it makes sense to sell his car and buy the creature instead. The unemployed Mr Dabour has sold his car and now intends to use a donkey and cart to sell cucumbers, onions and other vegetables door to door. "There are no jobs here, so I am going to create my own work," he said.

Pointing out that vehicle spare parts have dried up since the closure, Mr Dabour added: "A donkey doesn't need tyres, it doesn't need spare parts, and it doesn't need gasoline."

The reduction in fuel supplies from Israel into Gaza – declared a "hostile entity" by the Israeli cabinet in September – in response to continued Qassam rocket fire, has certainly quickened demand for donkeys as well as hitting water and sewerage provision. And the crisis this week, which led to the closure of petrol stations for several days, had led to a lower-than-usual 300 or so donkeys on sale in Shajaia yesterday, according to a cart-maker, Ashraf Kishko. Potential sellers were waiting to see how quickly fuel would return to the pumps.