Here in the north of Gaza, there is virtually no food available. People are resorting to eating animal feed or bird seed to stay alive. For some, there is only grass left to eat. Doctors have been warning for months that the Israeli military’s five-month long bombardment and siege of Gaza would end in hunger and starvation. Today, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has reported that famine is “imminent” and will take hold in the north of Gaza over the coming two months. Half of the population across Gaza now faces catastrophic levels of hunger, nearly twice as many people as reported in November. Children are already dying of malnutrition and dehydration.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to throttle aid at the border crossing into Gaza while the international community watches on. The tiny amount of aid that is allowed to enter is either being prevented from getting to people, especially in the north, or is being chaotically distributed, leaving people desperately scrambling for whatever they can get their hands on. This is stripping my community of its dignity while leaving the most vulnerable without any help at all. Hundreds of people have even paid with their lives trying to get food for their families.
The UN has warned that the decline in the population’s nutrition status is at a globally unprecedented rate. And still the world does nothing.
When I go to Jabalia refugee camp’s once-bustling market, there are no more stalls and no food to sell. Rice, lentils and beans have all disappeared, leaving behind only spices and extremely expensive nuts. Even the small snacks we used to give our children have become unachievable luxuries.
Some people I have met are surviving on just a cup of coffee a day. They are sacrificing whatever food they can access for their starving children. Every person I know in Gaza has lost weight, on average ranging from 10 to 30kgs. My children and I have also lost weight; my colleagues are shocked when they see in photos how much weight I have lost.
I recently saw a man give a few crisps to his two children, and I remember him saying make sure you calculate your portions properly, because I have nothing left and this is your food for the day. Children have even started going out on the streets with their plates and empty pots and spoons, banging on them and shouting they want to eat.
My colleagues in hospitals in northern Gaza have told me that they have not been able to secure even one meal recently and are only eating dates and simple liquid food, like soup made with wild plants. Healthcare workers are exhausted and suffering from physical weakness while working 24/7 to treat their patients. Hussam Abu Safiya, the head of paediatrics at Kamal Adwan hospital, said that around 25 to 30 children were being admitted every day, with half of them suffering from dehydration and starvation.
Let there be no mistake, the Israeli government is using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. This is an entirely preventable human-made crisis and can be ended right now. Superficial gestures from the US, UK and other states, such as airdrops and temporary seaports, are not solutions to end the famine. Neighbours have told me that the food parcels in these airdrops are enough for only two or three people for two or three days.
As the occupying power in Gaza, it is Israel’s legal responsibility to ensure that the occupied population receives food and medical supplies. To fulfil this obligation, Israel must immediately lift its total closure of Gaza, reopen all land crossings, and allow unhindered access for aid and aid workers.
If more food is not allowed into Gaza immediately, I’m afraid the worst will happen – and more and more people will die of starvation.
Mahmoud Shalabi is a senior programme director for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in Gaza. This article was co-produced with his colleagues in London, based on WhatsApp messages and voice notes
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