Families in the Gaza Strip have to endure not only Israel's relentless bombings, but also hunger as much-needed food supplies in the area are dwindling.
A Dec. 14 piece by Reuters shed light on the issue, recounting the testimonies of some individuals on the ground. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), aid distributions were taking place in the Rafah area close to the border with Egypt – albeit on a limited basis. "In the rest of the Gaza Strip, aid distribution has largely stopped," the OCHA remarked, citing "the intensity of hostilities and restrictions on movement along the main roads."
Fifty-five-year-old Abdel-Aziz Mohammad, who formerly lived in Gaza City, lamented the lack of aid reaching people like him in the south. "Aid? What aid? We hear about it and we don't see it," he told Reuters in a phone interview. Mohammed is now sheltering with his family and three others – about 30 people in total – at the house of friends who live farther south.
"I used to have a big house, two fridges full of food, electricity and mineral water. After two months of this war, I am begging for some loaves of bread," he said.
"It is a war of starvation. [Israel] forced us out of our homes. They destroyed our homes and businesses and drove us to the south, where we can either die under their bombs or die of hunger."
Journalist Youssef Fares, who hails from the northern Gazan city of Jabalia, lamented that staple goods like flour were now so hard to find. He also mentioned the ongoing price gouging in the city, with food items 50 to 100 times more expensive compared with the pre-war situation.
"This morning, I went in search of a loaf (of) bread and I couldn't find it," Fares wrote in a diary entry posted on Facebook. "What is left in the market is candy for children and some cans of beans, which have gone up 50 times in price."
The journalist also recounted seeing someone who "slaughtered a donkey to feed it to hundreds of his family members," highlighting the seriousness of hunger in the Gaza Strip.
Israel inspections delaying the arrival of aid trucks
Israel has been bombing the Gaza Strip with its goal of exterminating Hamas. But in the process, the conflict has made it almost impossible for aid convoys to move around and reach Gazans who need food the most.
More than 18,000 people have been killed by Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said most of the victims were women and children. The bombings have laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip and displaced most of its population.
On Dec. 14, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said hungry people were stopping its aid trucks to take food and eat it straight away. But Israel's interference could only worsen this situation – aligning with its goal to exterminate the Palestinians through hunger. (Starvation as a weapon: Zionist Israel wages Holodomor against Gaza.)
According to Reuters, all aid trucks enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. However, they first have to be inspected by Israel – which the country has done at the Nitzana crossing since deliveries began on Oct. 20. Trucks have been forced to loop from Rafah to Nitzana and back – causing bottlenecks.
Tel Aviv began additional aid truck inspections at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which aid officials said should reduce bottlenecks. Thus, UN officials called on Israel to let trucks directly into Gaza after being inspected at Kerem Shalom instead of making them return to Rafah.
According to a senior UN official with detailed knowledge of the aid delivery issue, Israel could make a significant difference by letting aid trucks through Kerem Shalom – but was choosing not to. "It's not a breakthrough in any way, since they return them back to Rafah," they said. "It's another bluff."
Visit Hunger.news for more stories about the hunger issue in Gaza.
Watch this clip of hungry Palestinians outside the UNRWA's headquarters in the city of Deir Al-Balah in the Gaza Strip.
This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.
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