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DEIR AL-BALAH, The Gaza Strip — Yasmin Eid coughs as she covers her face, preparing a small pot of lentils over a fire fed by twigs and scrap paper in the tent she shares with her husband and four young daughters in the Gaza Strip.
It was their sole meal on Wednesday — the only food they could afford.
“My girls suck on their thumbs because they are so hungry, and I pat their backs until they fall asleep,” she disclosed.
After being displaced five times, the Eid family now resides in central Gaza, an area where relief organizations have better access compared to the north, which has been heavily damaged and isolated since the onset of Israel’s intensified offensive against the militant group Hamas in early October. However, hunger is rampant throughout Gaza these days, with experts warning that a full-blown famine may be in progress in the north.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. They are accused of employing “starvation as a method of warfare,” a claim that Israel vehemently refutes.
In Deir al-Balah, the Eids are part of a larger community of hundreds of thousands taking refuge in deplorable tent camps. Local bakeries were shut down for five days this week, and by Wednesday, the price of a loaf of bread soared above $13 as bread and flour disappeared from store shelves before new supplies could arrive.
The United Nations’ humanitarian office has cautioned about a “stark increase” in the number of households facing severe hunger in central and southern Gaza, a situation tied to the recent armed robbery of nearly 100 aid trucks in southern Gaza, near Israeli military positions. While Israel blamed Hamas for the incident, there has been a lack of action to prevent such looting, which Hamas attributes to local criminals.
Relief organizations have identified looting as one of the numerous challenges in delivering food and essential aid to the region’s 2.3 million Palestinians. They are also facing Israeli movement restrictions, ongoing skirmishes, and significant infrastructure damage caused by Israeli airstrikes.
For the Eids, hunger has become a familiar part of their daily lives.
“For months now, my family has gone to bed hungry,” Yasmin recounted.
“Everything has become more expensive, making it impossible for us to buy anything. We frequently sleep without dinner.”
She longs for coffee, but a packet of Nescafe costs about $1.30. A kilogram (2 pounds) of onions is priced at $10, and a medium bottle of cooking oil can reach up to $15 — if it’s available. Meat and chicken have all but disappeared from the markets months ago, but some local vegetables are still present. These costs are outrageous in a destitute area where few individuals earn stable incomes.
Long lines of hundreds wait for hours to receive food from charities, which themselves are struggling to keep up.
Hani Almadhoun, who co-founded the Gaza Soup Kitchen, stated his team can only provide small servings of rice or pasta once a day. “We can go to the market one day and find an item for $5, only to return later and see its price has doubled or tripled,” he explained.
Their kitchen in the central town of Zuweida operated on a budget of approximately $500 daily for much of the conflict. Yet after aid deliveries dwindled in October, operational costs surged to around $1,300 a day. It is now only able to feed about half of the 1,000 families that line up each day.
The steep decline in aid, alongside a U.S. ultimatum
Israel states it imposes no restrictions on the volume of aid entering Gaza and has introduced measures it claims are designed to facilitate increased access in recent weeks, including a new crossing. The Israeli government holds U.N. agencies accountable for the delays, pointing to numerous trucks still waiting at the Gaza border.
However, military sources indicate that aid entering Gaza fell dramatically to approximately 1,800 trucks in October, down from over 4,200 in September. At the current pace, about 2,400 trucks are expected to enter Gaza in November, compared to around 500 trucks per day prior to the conflict.
According to the U.N., less than half of the arriving truckloads are effectively distributed due to ongoing violence, Israeli denial of movement requests, and a breakdown in law and order. Following targeted Israeli airstrikes, Hamas-run law enforcement has largely disappeared in numerous districts.
The conflict erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters infiltrated Israel, resulting in the deaths of roughly 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, and approximately 250 abductions. Currently, around 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a significant number reportedly deceased, as Hamas militants continue to regroup after Israeli military strikes, launching intermittent attacks from tunnels and destroyed buildings.
In retaliatory measures, Israel’s offensive has resulted in over 44,000 Palestinian fatalities, with women and children constituting over half of the casualties, according to local health authorities, who do not disclose how many slain individuals were combatants.
The United States had warned Israel in October that it might need to reconsider its crucial military support if it did not significantly enhance the aid flow into Gaza. Yet after the 30-day deadline lapsed, the Biden administration abstained from acting, claiming that some improvements had been observed.
Furthermore, Israel has enacted legislation to sever ties with UNRWA, accusing the agency of infiltration by Hamas — allegations the U.N. has denied.
Israeli media have reported that officials are exploring plans for the military to take over aid distribution or to contract it out to private security firms. When questioned about such possibilities, government spokesperson David Mercer stated, “Israel is examining various creative solutions to secure a better future for Gaza.”
Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister who was considered a moderate voice within the right-wing government before his dismissal this month, cautioned on X that outsourcing aid distribution to a private company would signal the “beginning of military rule.”
As this discussion unfolds in Jerusalem, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away in central Gaza, the majority of Palestinians concentrate on mere survival amidst an unending war.
“I find it hard to articulate the suffering we’re enduring. It’s humiliating to speak about,” confessed Yasmin’s husband, Hani. “What can I say? I have 21 family members, and I can’t even provide them with a bag of flour.”
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