Can?t find a PlayStation 5 console? There are supplies in ? Gaza

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 - for once - 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 sorely disappointed on Christmas morning.

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 PS5s can be found, they are rare and often cost much more than the £359-£449 retail price tag.

In downtown Gaza City, the price is also way above the official figure. Still, unused 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.

The first PS5s arrived in Gaza in April as contraband, Baik says. They were sourced in Dubai, taken apart, smuggled in pieces through Egypt and reassembled in Gaza. A handful sold for close to £1,200.

However, Baik said Israel has in the past few months allowed suppliers in Gaza to import consoles from Israeli traders - at a premium. The price has since dropped in Gaza to £765-£860, although many linger on shelves.