The poultry farming industry in Gaza has suffered losses of over US$10 million as a result of Israel's seven week offensive on the besieged enclave, with rising prices due to shortages, according to Ma'an News.

"Farms were shelled, and in farms that were not shelled, their owners were not able to reach them to feed their livestock, leaving them to die of hunger and thirst," the owner of a poultry distribution company Masud Siyam said.

Tahsin al-Saqqa, the general manager of marketing in the Ministry of Agriculture, told Ma'an News that over two million chickens were killed in the Israeli offensive, with prices rising by 15 shekels (US$4) per kilo.

The ministry is being forced to import chickens from the West Bank and Israel to cover the losses, with 70,000 chickens entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Mr al-Saqqa predicted, however, that prices would normalise by October.