GAZA, (PIC)
Every morning, thousands of fathers, mothers, and children in northern Gaza set out on a grueling mission to search for any food that can stave off starvation and save their families from the specter of death by hunger, which is no longer just a slogan or a warning, but a reality that devours more victims daily in full view of the world.
Citizen Said Asleem tells the reporter from the Palestinian Information Center, “Every day I set out early, wandering the streets and lands and relief centers, hoping to find anything to feed my family of 6.”
He mentioned that all the family members engage in arduous daily tasks, “the children go out in search of water and bring it from far distances, the wife collects firewood and waits to see if we can obtain something to cook, and I go in a vicious circle, often returning empty-handed.”
He underlined that since the Israeli occupation forces invaded Jabaliya in northern Gaza, no aid or even goods have entered, and the currently available flour is in small quantities, and some canned goods that are starting to run out, with prices on fire.
Since the Israeli invasion of Rafah on May 7th of last year, the occupation forces have imposed a suffocating siege on northern Gaza and halted the flow of aid almost completely, after a partial respite that lasted only weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents facing the specter of famine.
Famine is approaching
The Government Media Office in Gaza continues to issue warnings that famine is rapidly approaching in the Gaza and North governorates.
It said, “There are no goods in the Gaza and North governorates and people may be forced to eat tree leaves, calling on the international community to compel the Israeli occupation army to open the crossings and allow in aid.”
The famine has multiple dimensions and aspects – there is no food to eat, no milk for infants, no medicine for the sick. It is a triple stranglehold that doctors warn will have severe consequences for the health of hundreds of thousands still living in northern Gaza.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that Israel has used starvation as a method of warfare, warning of the impact on Gaza’s population for decades to come, with especially negative results for children. It stressed that this constitutes a war crime.
The commission highlighted in a recent report that at the time of writing, children had died due to severe malnutrition and drought as a result of the blockade imposed by Israel, during which it withheld essential aid and cut off supplies of water, food, electricity, fuel and other basic necessities, including humanitarian assistance.
Bloggers interacted with several hashtags addressing the famine in northern Gaza, calling for the widest possible movement to force the occupation army to stop its deadly war and stop using starvation as a weapon.
