Palestinians in Gaza face a lack of food after six weeks of blocking

The bombs have not yet killed Rehab Akhras and his family. But if the control posts Israel has blocked since early March not opened soon, she says hunger will surely do so.

Six weeks after Israel has completely cut off the supply to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, foods stored during ceasefire earlier this year are practically sold out.

Emergency dining distributions are coming to an end, bakeries are closed and markets are empty.

In a piece of dirt beaten in a camp of plastic canvas where he lives with his family displaced in Khan Youis, Akhras, 64, used cardboard to light a fire and boil a can of beans. It is all they have left.

“We are a family of 13 people, what can a can of beans do for us?” She said.

“We survived the war and the attacks, upon waking and sleeping. But we cannot survive hunger, neither us nor our children,” he added.

To the north, in nose, hundreds of Palestinians formed queue to receive hot boiled rice in an outdoor emergency kitchen. Young children packed in front of the line, shaking buckets to bring something to their families.

Help agencies that provide these emergency meals say they will have to stop within a few days unless they can bring more food.

The World Food Program (PMA) provided bread on 25 bakeries in the Gaza Strip. All of these bakeries are closed. Soon, the program will have to interrupt the distribution of basic baskets in reduced portions.

“All basic supplies are running out,” said Juliette Touma of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian humanitarian aid.

“Commodities prices have increased exponentially last month, since Israeli authorities have shook the Gaza Strip,” he added.

“It means that babies and children will sleep hungry. With each passing day, without these basic supplies, Gaza approaches very, very deep hunger,” he added.


Every gaza resident can now cite the exorbitant prices of the few foods left in the markets: a 25 -pound flour bag, which was usually sold for $ 6, now costs ten times more.

A liter of cooking oil, if you can find it, costs $ 10 instead of $ 1.50. Some lucky ones can stumble on a can of sardines if they can pay $ 5.

Israel denies that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis.

The Israeli army accuses men of Hamas, who govern Gaza, to explore humanitarian aid and states that it should keep all supplies abroad to prevent combatants from receiving them.

“The FDI (Israeli Defense Forces) are acting according to the guidelines of the political summit. Israel is not transferring and will not transfer help to terrorist organizations,” the military said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that 25,000 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on the 42-day ceasefire-before closing the border in early March-and that Hamas used aid to rebuild its war machine.

Hamas denies exploring help and accuses Israel of using hunger as a military tactic.

In Nusirat, Neama Farjalla leaves every day at 6 am, walking with her children through the community kitchen in community kitchen, hoping to get a bowl of rice.

“If we do not die for a bombing, we will starve,” she said.

“When my young son tells me, ‘Mom, I want a glass of milk,’ my heart departs, I feel I can’t take care of him.”


This content was originally published in Palestinians in Gaza faces food after six weeks of blocking on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil

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