Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, where humanitarian aid cannot reach due to the Israeli ban, survive by grinding and eating animal fodder.
Since October 7th last year, the Israeli army has been carrying out continuous attacks on the Gaza Strip, where about 2.3 million people live. In addition to fighting for their lives due to Israeli attacks, Palestinians also struggle with hunger and thirst. They are in a blocked enclave where no help can enter.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the northern Gaza Strip, where basic food products have disappeared due to Israeli bombardment and a total blockade that has lasted for about four months, are also struggling with hunger.
People in northern Gaza suffer from diseases related to malnutrition.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, about 600.000 Palestinians in the north are at risk of death due to hunger and disease, as well as Israeli bombardment.
The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced in November 2023 that everyone living in the Gaza Strip was exposed to “food insecurity” due to the blockade imposed by Israel on October 7th.
As part of the “humanitarian pause” agreement reached between Hamas and Israel, humanitarian aid was allowed to enter the northern regions for a week, starting on November 24th.
After a humanitarian pause in November, the Tel Aviv administration denied all aid to northern Gaza until early January.
According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the limited amount of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip cannot meet even seven percent of the people’s needs.
Avatif el-Besyuni, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza, said they had to grind and eat animal fodder.
“We live in very difficult conditions. In addition to war, hunger and the cold are also killing us,” stated el-Besyuni.
Pointing out that there is no flour to make bread in the north of Gaza, Besyuni emphasized:
“The children can’t find food. So we had to grind fodder.”
Stating that they are struggling with hunger, this Palestinian asked Arab and Islamic countries to put pressure on Israel.
“Stop the war in Gaza, save the people of Gaza who are struggling with destruction and hunger,” el-Besyuni added.
Hasan Sheref, a resident of the Tel al-Zaatar region in northern Gaza, said there are no words to describe the current situation in the northern Gaza Strip, where food has run out.
“The situation is really tragic, there is nothing left to eat and everything is destroyed. Sometimes we don’t eat anything for 48 hours,” said Sheref.
He stated that the most affected by the lack of food are children, who until now did not even know what war and blockade meant.
“We dream of white flour and bread. That is our dream. The faces and personalities of the people in northern Gaza have changed because they have become thinner from starvation. I meet many people who I cannot recognize because they have changed so much,” said Sheref.
He added that people died in this area from hunger and cold.
Palestinian Um Asad el-Ketri, who bakes bread in the house destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Jabalia refugee camp, said that they do not even have the minimum conditions for life.
“This bread is made from bird food,” said Ketri.
She added that the bread is hard, but they are trying to soften it and thus feed the children, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
