GAZA, (PIC)
In a heartbreaking scene too painful for the eyes or heart to bear, Umm Mohammad Al-Nams was seen moving from one tent to another among the displaced in Mawasi Khan Yunis, desperately searching for a mere “crumb of bread” to feed her children — children who haven’t tasted bread in two weeks. Every morning, she walks the same path of despair, only to be met with more waiting and disappointment.
A mother of five, the oldest of whom is not yet ten, Umm Mohammad says, “I swear to God, there are days I go without food for two days, just so I can feed my children and my injured husband. He’s paralyzed from a shrapnel wound in his back. There’s no medicine to ease his pain, no food to keep him going.”
Her personal tragedy is just one among tens of thousands of Palestinian families enduring unimaginable suffering in Gaza. For over two months now, Israeli forces have kept the border crossings sealed and blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, ignoring all international appeals and warnings of a looming famine that could claim thousands of lives.
Terrifying numbers
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 57 children have died from hunger and malnutrition — the most recent being little Janan Al-Sakafi, who passed away after her family failed to find even basic milk or food for her.
Medical sources warn that over 3,500 children under the age of five are on the brink of death from starvation, with nearly 290,000 more at grave risk.
“More than 70,000 children have been hospitalized in recent months due to severe malnutrition,” the sources added. “With aid still being blocked, the disaster isn’t just looming — it’s already here, living among us.”
A single meal of lentils … or nothing
In another haunting scene, 57-year-old Abu Ayman stood at a stall in Khan Yunis market, desperately trying to find a substitute for flour, which has now become a luxury — one kilo selling for over 60 shekels (around $17). Rice has jumped to 40 shekels per kilo, lentils to 30.
Exhausted, he said, “All I have left are lentils and beans. I grind them to make bread to keep my children alive. Weeks ago, I convinced them to survive on just one meal a day… We have no choice. Either we live with hunger … or die silently.”
Scenes from ‘Deadly Hunger’
Shops and market stalls have run out of basic food items. What little remains are a few canned peas and beans. Soup kitchens are overwhelmed — the distances are long, the lines even longer, and the meals barely enough to satisfy anyone.
“Every morning, I divide the tasks with my children — one goes for water, another waits at the soup kitchen,” says Umm Mohammad in a voice filled with despair. “Most days, we come back with nothing — just hungry eyes and hearts heavy with hunger and hopelessness.”
A final plea to the world
Amid this suffering, the displaced people of Gaza are sending out a purely humanitarian cry to the international community, to relief agencies, to human rights groups, and to the Red Cross:
“Save us before we die of hunger. Open the crossings. End the siege. Death is now choosing — between those who fall to bombs and those who suffocate from starvation.”
What’s happening in Gaza isn’t just a food crisis — it’s a humanitarian massacre unfolding in plain sight, every day, every hour. And if the international silence continues, more children like Janan will join the ever-growing list of victims … not just because of war, but because they were denied their right to life.
