Famine suffocates Gaza

Ikram Al-Ammarin: "My children are dying of hunger... They are suffocating us from all sides"

Muhammad Baner: I am waiting impatiently for the flour truck to arrive at the UNRWA school... but it did not arrive

Umm Ahmed Shalh: I can't buy a $200 bag of flour. We live on rice, soup and pasta

Abu Hasna to "AlQuds": The world must assume its responsibilities to secure the delivery of aid to Gaza

Displaced Ikram Al-Ammarin sat at the door of her tent inside a shelter school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), preoccupied and wondering how she would be able to provide food to satisfy the hunger of her orphaned children after the decision taken by UNRWA to stop the entry of aid into the Strip.

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, announced the suspension of the delivery of aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main passage for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, after an armed gang seized food trucks that tried to enter through the crossing the day before yesterday, Saturday.

This news was not normal for the displaced people in the Gaza Strip, but rather shocking and sad, as they depend largely and fundamentally on the aid distributed to them by UNRWA in its shelters.

Al-Ammarin told Al-Quds.com: “UNRWA used to provide us with all the food supplies, but now it has stopped working, and the living situation is very difficult. I have not had flour for more than a month.”

Ikram waited, hoping that UNRWA would distribute flour inside the school. She continued: “Today I cooked chard and lentils. My children and I ate it with a spoon, because there was no bread.” She added: “My children cry because it didn’t satisfy their hunger, so I have to make tea to distract them until they fall asleep.”

Ekram Al-Amarin, her husband was martyred and she supports her nine children

Ikram was displaced from her home in Gaza City to a school in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, and is raising her nine children alone after her husband was martyred in the ongoing Israeli war.

Ekram could not hold back her tears as she said: “My children are dying of hunger and there is no one to provide for them. The aid used to support them, and now they have been deprived of everything.” She continued: “Hunger, poverty and sadness... they are suffocating us from all sides.”

As for Muhammad Banar, the news was like a thunderbolt to him, as he was waiting impatiently for a truck loaded with flour to arrive at the school to distribute it to them.

He told Al-Quds.com: “I was overjoyed when I heard that a certain amount of flour would be delivered to the school, especially since I haven’t had it for a month.”

The tragedy does not stop at flour only, but the aid provided by UNRWA in the form of canned food, rice and frying oil was enough to meet the needs of the displaced for weeks, but now the situation has changed and has worsened.

“We used to receive a kilo of rice and a bottle of frying oil from the school twice a month,” Mohammed says. “My family of six and I would live there for a few days, then we would try to make ends meet.” He adds, “Now everything is missing, and even if it is available, the prices are so high that we cannot afford to buy.”

"Canned goods stock" is running low

As for the displaced woman, Umm Ahmad Shallah (45 years old), she is struggling on the time front so that the reserve stock of canned food that she received from UNRWA before it stopped runs out.

She told Al-Quds.com: “UNRWA was distributing canned food, rice, and cereal. I was trying to freeze some of it so that it would be useful to me in times of crisis, but the stock is almost finished.” She added: “My family and I are living in a famine worse than before.”

Umm Ahmed did not realize that UNRWA would stop its services, especially after she was waiting for the distribution of flour in light of its lack and high price, if available, in the markets of central and southern Gaza Strip.

She added: “Every day I live in the hope of receiving aid, even though what arrives is not enough for all the displaced people inside the school, but it is still better than nothing.”

What is more difficult than death is to see your children struggling with hunger and fear together, without being able to do anything. This is the case of all mothers in Gaza, not just Umm Ahmed.

She added: "I do not have a steady source of income to buy a bag of flour that costs more than $200 to satisfy my children's hunger. We live on rice, soup and pasta for a whole month."

Gangs specialized in stealing aid

In turn, the media advisor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Adnan Abu Hasna, told Al-Quds and Al-Quds.com: “The world must assume its legal responsibilities to secure the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip and its distribution to civilians.”

He continued: "All aid trucks that enter the sector are distributed under the supervision of other organizations. Yesterday, we tried to bring in a certain number, but gangs stole them all," adding: "This is very unacceptable behavior, and it cannot be allowed."

Abu Hasna stressed that the decision was difficult, but it was parallel to what happened in reality, adding: “The delivery of humanitarian aid should never be a risky matter or turn into suffering.”