Gaza's Residents Face Dire Famine as Conditions Worsen

With a UN-backed report confirming famine in Gaza for the first time, residents describe harrowing experiences of hunger and despair, amidst conflicting claims about aid restrictions and starvation.

Residents of the Gaza Strip are enduring a severe famine, exacerbated by ongoing conflict and restricted aid, with harrowing testimonies emerging from families struggling to survive. Reem Tawfiq Khader, a 41-year-old mother from Gaza City, lamented the late declaration of famine, emphasizing its importance. "We haven't eaten any protein for five months. My youngest child is only four and doesn't know what fruit or vegetables look like," she expressed.

The United Nations has attributed the crisis to heavily limited aid supplies, a claim that Israel disputes. More than 100 humanitarian groups, alongside various UN bodies, bear witness to the starvation unfolding in the territory. This week, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released alarming data declaring an “entirely man-made” famine, warning that over half a million people are facing catastrophic conditions, including "starvation, destitution and death."

47-year-old Rajaa Talbeh, a mother of six, shared her own struggles, having lost 25 kilograms since the outbreak of hostilities. Displaced from her home in Zeitoun and living in a tent near the beach, she criticized the dire lack of gluten-free options essential for her intolerance. "It’s unbearable—daily bombardment, displacement, and now this famine," she said, outlining the daily struggle to find adequate food.

Since the commencement of Israel's military operation following a Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in significant casualties, Gaza has witnessed over 62,000 deaths. Alarmingly, Gaza's health ministry indicated that at least 271 individuals, including 112 children, have perished from famine and malnutrition since the conflict escalated.

Aseel, another resident, recounted her personal ordeal of rapid weight loss and a dire lack of food, declaring she hadn't had a piece of fruit or meat in months. With her sister-in-law's baby in need of formula, Aseel explained that prices have skyrocketed to unaffordable levels, leaving them reliant on dwindling resources: "We live day by day, hoping for something to change."