GAZA, (PIC)
The days of Eid al-Fitr have passed in the Gaza Strip without bringing any signs of joy; instead, they witnessed the ongoing suffering of the residents of the Strip who are facing a systematic genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces since October 7, 2023.
Massacres continue, hunger is ravaging the bodies of children and adults, while the displaced are dying amid bombardment, hunger, and cold.
Displacement over corpses
Citizen Bahjat Abu Hilal, who was forced to flee from the city of Rafah, describes the scene: “We saw the bodies of young men, elders, women, and children lying in the streets; we couldn’t even bury them. Some families saw their martyr sons but couldn’t approach them due to the danger of the shelling.”
He adds: “We tried to seek refuge in buildings and schools instead of tents, but the occupation pursued us, besieged us, and killed us. Our children became martyrs while wearing Eid clothes, and others were killed while fasting during Ramadan.”
Hunger devastates bodies
Citizen Samir Awad confirms that the residents of the Strip are experiencing a real famine: “We have lost weight, and we have forced our children to sleep early so they wouldn’t ask for food. The markets are empty of flour and bread, and the price of a bag of flour has reached 500 shekels, while a kilogram of bread is sold for 25 shekels.”
Citizen Hani Abu Ramadan adds: “The prices of vegetables have risen outrageously, with the price of a kilogram of onions reaching 40 shekels, potatoes at 60 shekels, and tomatoes at 18 shekels. No one can afford these prices.”
Lack of water and fuel
Citizen Taysir Aram describes the water crisis: “Water supplies have been cut off because municipalities have stopped pumping it due to the lack of fuel. We are forced to carry water over long distances, and sometimes it is unfit for drinking, so we resort to buying it at high prices.”
Meanwhile, citizen Muhammad Abu Sabha points to the cooking gas crisis: “The gas shortage has forced citizens to use firewood, which has increased in price from 2 to 7 shekels per kilogram, while the price of cooking gas has reached 270 shekels if available. Many have had to burn their furniture to cook food and bake bread.”
Primitive transportation and difficult charging
Due to the destruction of 80% of vehicles by the occupation, residents rely on animal-drawn carts, while transportation fares have skyrocketed.
Citizen Hussam Hamdan says: “Even charging phones has become a struggle; we spend more than 5 hours to charge a phone, and the batteries don’t last until morning due to damage and the occupation’s prevention of alternative supplies.”
Warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food said: “Israel is using starvation as a weapon in its aggression against Gaza, and the number of deaths due to hunger may exceed those killed by shelling,” affirming that the occupation is committing a crime of genocide.
For its part, the World Food Program warned that “food stocks are only sufficient for two weeks, and hundreds of thousands are at risk of hunger and malnutrition, while the war disrupts relief operations.”
Shocking statistics
According to official data:
- 85% of Gaza’s population has lost their sources of food.
- 280,000 families are homeless.
- 719 water wells and 330,000 meters of water networks have been destroyed.
- 34 hospitals and 80 health centers are out of service.
- Electricity has been cut off for 18 months.
Continued massacres
The toll of aggression so far has reached 50,423 martyrs and 114,638 wounded, in addition to the complete destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, infrastructure, and mosques and churches, making the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.
Despite all this, the people of Gaza continue to resist death, clinging to life, awaiting the long-awaited international justice.
