Diary of a Gazan family's descent toward starvation
Mervat Hijazi and her nine children didn't eat at all on Thursday — save her underweight baby who had a sachet of peanut paste.
"I'm so ashamed of myself for not being able to feed my children," Hijazi said from their tent pitched amid the rubble of Gaza City. "I cry at night when my baby cries and her stomach aches from hunger."
Six-year-old Zaha can't sleep because of Israel's bombardment.
"She wakes up terrified, shaking, and then remembers she didn't eat and is hungry. I put her back to sleep, promising her food in the morning. Of course I lie."
Hijazi, 38, recounted a terrible week.
Sunday, May 18: Her family was given about half a kilo of cooked lentils from a community kitchen run by a charity, half the amount she would normally use for a single meal.
Monday: A local aid group was distributing some vegetables in the camp but there wasn't enough to go round and Hijazi's family didn't get any. Her 14-year-old daughter Menna went to the community kitchen and came back with a meager amount of cooked potato.
Everyone was hungry so they filled up by drinking water.
A Palestinian girl feeds her sister inside their tent in Gaza City. |
REUTERS
Tuesday: The family received about half a kilo of cooked pasta from the kitchen. One daughter was also given some falafel by an uncle who lived nearby.
Wednesday: A good day, relatively. They received a bowl of rice with lentils at the community kitchen. It wasn't nearly enough, but Menna went back and pleaded with them and they eventually gave her two other small dishes.
"She is tough and keeps crying at them until they give her."
Thursday: the kitchen was closed, the family couldn't find out why. They had nothing to eat except for the peanut sachet for 11-month-old Lama, received from a clinic as a nutritional supplement because baby milk formula has all but disappeared.
"I don't have enough milk in my breasts to feed her because I hardly eat myself," said Hijazi, whose husband was killed early in the war as he cycled to get food from a charity kitchen.
The Hijazis' plight is a snapshot of the misery plaguing the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. A global hunger monitor warned this month that half a million people face starvation while famine looms.
Israel has been bombarding and besieging Gaza since the territory's ruling group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, 2023. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people, according to Israel, while Gazan authorities say the ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 53,000 people.
A Palestinian woman holds a metal bowl of food as she stands in front of her tent in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. |
REUTERS
Israeli authorities have repeatedly said there is enough food in Gaza to feed the population and accuse Hamas of stealing aid in order to feed its fighters and to maintain control over the territory, an accusation the group denies.
This week Israel started allowing some food to enter the territory for the first time since March 2, including flour and baby food but it says a new U.S.-sponsored system run by private contractors will begin operating soon. The plan will involve distribution centers in areas controlled by Israeli troops, a plan the U.N. and aid agencies have attacked, saying it will lead to further displacement of the population and that aid should flow through existing networks.
Hijazi said her family had seen no sign yet of the new aid and she is consumed by worry for her baby, Lama, who was 5 kg when weighed last week. That's about half the average for a healthy one-year-old girl according to World Health Organization charts.
This week the family have had, at most, a single meal a day to share, the mother added.
U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said this week that the amount of aid Israel was proposing to allow into Gaza was "a drop in the ocean" of what was needed.
The tent shared by Hijazi and her children is large and rectangular with a portrait of their dead husband and father Mohammed hanging on one side above a thin mattress and some mostly empty jars and stacked plastic bowls.
A woman eats with her grandchildren in front of their tent in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. |
REUTERS
The family is from the Sabra district of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, where Israel's first assault was concentrated. They decided to flee the district on the day Mohammed was killed — Nov. 17, 2023.
They went south to the central Gazan area of Deir al-Balah, first staying with family and then moving to an encampment for the displaced. They returned to Gaza City after a ceasefire was agreed in January, but their home had been damaged and they are now living in a camp for the displaced.
Hunger makes them all listless, Hijazi said, and they often lack enough energy even to clean their tent. When Reuters visited, some of the children lay sprawled silent on the floor.
But they still have jobs to do.
Menna is often sent to queue at the food kitchen. She arrives more than an hour before it opens, knowing that otherwise she would stand no chance of getting food and often waits another hour before she is served, Hijazi said.
On days when a tanker does not bring water to their part of the camp, Mustafa, 15, and Ali, 13, have to walk to a standpipe in another district and lug heavy plastic jerrycans back to the tent — a chore made harder by their hunger.
Everyone remembers life before the war and they talk about the meals they used to enjoy. Mohammed Hijazi was a plumber and earned a good wage.
"People used to envy us for the variety of food we had," his wife said, recalling breakfasts of eggs, beans, falafel, cheese, yogurt and bread, and lunches and dinners of meat, rice, chicken and vegetables.
Her 16-year-old daughter Malik talked about burgers, chocolate and Coca-Cola.
"We are civilians. We have no say in this war. All we want is for the war to end," Hijazi said.
"We want to go back to live in homes — real homes. We want to sleep with full stomachs and in peace, not scared of dying while we sleep."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
7 days ago
- NHK
US-backed group cancels food aid distribution in Gaza on Wednesday
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has said it would not distribute food aid to people in the enclave on Wednesday, as attacks by Israeli forces continue there. The private-sector foundation has provided food since May 27. But local authorities say Israeli troops have been repeatedly opening fire on residents waiting for aid, causing deaths and injuries. The foundation said on Tuesday that distribution centers would be closed on Wednesday for maintenance work, such as "improving efficiency." It added that operations would resume on Thursday. The Israeli military said roads leading to the sites would be blocked on Wednesday. The United Nations and other organizations are criticizing the foundation, which is backed by the US. It says food aid distribution should be carried out in a framework led by the UN. UN spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said on Tuesday: "It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking, and in several instances, losing their lives, just trying to get food." He also called for an immediate and independent investigation.
Japan Times
7 days ago
- Japan Times
Israel's Gaza push spurs Europe leaders to turn on Netanyahu
Some of Israel's most loyal supporters in Europe are increasingly speaking out against the war in Gaza, with several nations, including Germany, considering trade sanctions and curbs on arms sales. In recent weeks, the U.K., Netherlands and France have started mulling such moves against Israel to help end the 20-month conflict, which has destroyed much of Gaza and sparked what international aid agencies say is a hunger crisis. Germany's pivot was the most surprising due to its historical position that protecting Israel is a post-Holocaust obligation. German anger with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government grew when it intensified military operations against Hamas in mid-May and continued blocking aid to Gaza, according to information obtained by Bloomberg. In the German government's first such comments since the start of the war, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the humanitarian situation could "no longer be justified by a fight against Hamas terrorism.' Merz spoke to Netanyahu on Sunday and said it was "necessary to allow sufficient humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip immediately.' The condemnation is symbolic of the shift in Europe and of Israel's increasing isolation. Opinion polls show growing discontent. In a survey last week by Civey for Germany's Tagesspiegel newspaper, more than half the respondents said it was wrong for Berlin to export weapons to Israel. The sentiment is similar in several other nations and protests have escalated. Last month, the Netherlands saw one of its biggest protests in years, with tens of thousands of people calling for the war to stop. Displaced residents look at damage to a school following an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Daraj district of Gaza City on May 26. | Bloomberg "It's simply become impossible for most European governments to continue supporting Israel's war despite strong ongoing commitments to Israel's security,' said Julien Barnes-Dacey, program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the European Council on Foreign Relations. More countries are taking action and calling for the European Union to adopt sanctions on Israel. The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, in May said there is "a strong majority' in favor of reviewing the bloc's trade agreement with Israel. Merz subsequently said Germany — one of Israel's main arms suppliers — is considering restrictions on military exports. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, with the two exchanging $47 billion of goods last year, according to the International Monetary Fund, and a change in policy would have a palpable impact on the Jewish state's economy, which is under strain because of the war. The U.K. announced plans to pause free-trade talks with Israel and sanctions against a handful of individuals and entities it said were engaged in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Still, European governments remain supportive of Israel's right to defend itself and EU sanctions would likely face opposition from the likes of Hungary. In addition, any measures to cut weapons exports could hurt European defense companies, while risking reciprocal action from Israel, which sells air-defense and other military equipment to Europe. Outrage in Europe escalated over a Israel— and U.S.-backed proposal to restart aid distribution to Gaza. The United Nations said the plan would supply nowhere near enough food and medicine to the territory's more than 2 million Palestinians and politicize handouts. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Swiss-based nonprofit running the program, started distribution last week and says enough meals will be available as more centers open. Israel says the plan's necessary to avoid supplies falling into the hands of Hamas. It also says its escalation of ground and air attacks in Gaza are needed to force Hamas to surrender and release the 58 hostages it still holds. Iran-backed Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and the EU, triggered the war when thousands of fighters crossed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250. More than 54,000 Gazans have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian territory. Israel has lost more than 400 troops in Gaza combat. Images of hungry and injured children and a territory reduced to rubble have spread across news bulletins and social media, intensifying protests and prompting more pressure on Israel to increase aid supplies and stop its bombardment. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe will have to harden its collective stance toward Israel unless the situation in Gaza improves soon. Displaced Palestinians collect food from a community kitchen in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, on May 19. | Bloomberg "The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,' France said in a joint statement with the U.K. and Canada on May 19. "We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions.' France, home to both the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe, is seeking to rally international support for Palestinian statehood and this month it is set to co-chair a U.N. conference in New York with Saudi Arabia. The French president will be in Rome later Tuesday for a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, where he is likely to bring up the issue. Although Italy recently urged Israel to end the war, Meloni's government is unlikely to support Palestinian independence and has maintained support for Netanyahu. The French public is largely supportive of the initiative, with a poll by Odoxa last month showing nearly two thirds of people favor a Palestinian state and 61% would back political and economic sanctions on Israel. According to the same poll, Macron's approval rating improved largely due to his shift on Gaza. For now, Israel's most important ally, the U.S., is standing by Netanyahu's government. Still, U.S. President Donald Trump has consistently spoken of wanting to stabilize the Middle East and has said he wants the conflict in Gaza to end. Trump "could actually strengthen the Franco-Saudi push for Palestinian statehood because Palestinian statehood cannot happen without a ceasefire in Gaza,' Rym Momtaz, editor in chief of Carnegie Europe's blog Strategic Europe, said. Netanyahu has lashed out at Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing them of "inviting more such atrocities' on Israel. For the EU, forging consensus is often a long process, with several rounds of horse trading. Yet Germany's comments are "a real marker' of how things have moved, according to Barnes-Dacey of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "But Europeans will need to back up their statements of condemnation with real material steps,' he said, "if they want to be taken seriously and are genuinely seeking to shift Israeli positioning.'
Japan Times
04-06-2025
- Japan Times
Any U.S. deal with Iran must tackle nuclear watchdog's blind spots
U.N. inspectors monitoring Iran's Fordow nuclear site confronted a major gap in their knowledge last year as they watched trucks carrying advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges roll into the facility dug into a mountain south of Tehran. While Iran had notified the International Atomic Energy Agency that hundreds of extra IR-6 centrifuges would be installed at Fordow, the inspectors had no idea where the sophisticated machines had come from, an official familiar with the U.N. monitoring work said on condition of anonymity. The episode encapsulated how the U.N. nuclear watchdog has lost track of some critical elements of Iran's nuclear activities since U.S. President Donald Trump ditched a 2015 deal that imposed strict restrictions and close IAEA supervision. Key blind spots include not knowing how many centrifuges Iran possesses or where the machines and their parts are produced and stored, quarterly IAEA reports show. The agency has also lost the ability to carry out snap inspections at locations not declared by Iran. The U.S. has started new talks with Iran, aiming to impose fresh nuclear restrictions on Tehran. For any deal to succeed, though, those IAEA blind spots will need to be closed, according to more than a dozen people familiar with Iran's atomic activities, including officials, diplomats and analysts. "There are gaps in our knowledge of Iran's nuclear program that must be addressed in order to have a baseline understanding of its current scale and scope," said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group think tank. "That may take months to piece together but it's critical if the IAEA and parties to the negotiations are to have confidence in the non-proliferation benefits of an agreement." The IAEA, which answers to 180 member states, declined to comment for this article. The Iranian foreign ministry and Iran's Atomic Energy Organization didn't respond to queries. Iran has long held that it was entitled to scrap its commitments to enhanced IAEA supervision under the 2015 deal after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew. It rejects Western accusations that it is at least keeping the option of building a nuclear weapon open, saying its aims are purely peaceful. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear aims are purely peaceful. | Arash Khamooshi / The New York Times The Islamic Republic has nonetheless made big strides in uranium enrichment in recent years. When the U.S. and world powers struck the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, they sought to limit Tehran's "breakout time" — how long it would need to produce enough fissile material for a single atom bomb — to at least a year by capping the purity to which it could enrich uranium at below 4%. Now that breakout time has all but evaporated. Iran has installed ever more advanced centrifuges and is enriching to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade of roughly 90%. According to a confidential report by the IAEA at the weekend, Iran, by an agency yardstick, has enough uranium enriched to that level for nine nuclear weapons if refined further. No other country has enriched uranium to such a high level without producing weapons, the watchdog added. Nuclear power plants often use fuel enriched to between 3% and 5%. A European official who follows Iran's nuclear program said the enrichment program was now so advanced that, even if it was shut down entirely, the Iranians could restart and rebuild it in the space of a few months. After five rounds of discussions between Iranian and U.S. negotiators, several obstacles remain. Among them are Iran's rejection of an American demand that it commit to scrapping enrichment and its refusal to ship its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium abroad. Given the window has closed to restore as long a breakout time as in 2015, any new deal would instead have to bolster IAEA supervision of the nuclear program, said the official who also requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Roughly three years ago, Iran ordered the removal of all the surveillance and monitoring equipment added by the 2015 deal, including surveillance cameras at the workshops that make centrifuge parts. At that point, the IAEA had already not had access to those cameras' footage for more than a year. While the IAEA is aware of the roughly 20,000 centrifuges installed at Iran's enrichment facilities, it does not know how many more have been produced in recent years and are now elsewhere. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said IAEA monitoring was critical for the international community to understand the full extent of Iran's nuclear program, though adding it was not in America's interest to "negotiate these issues publicly." Iran rejects U.S. enrichment demand The 2015 deal capped the purity to which Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, well below the 20% it had already reached then, and restricted the number and type of centrifuges the country could use and where. Enrichment was not allowed at Fordow. Iran, meanwhile, agreed to the snap inspections and an expansion of the IAEA's oversight to include areas such as centrifuge production and its stock of so-called yellowcake uranium that has not been enriched. IAEA reports showed Iran adhered to limits on key elements of its nuclear program, including enrichment, until more than a year after Trump abandoned the pact in 2018, during his first term. The U.S. president decried a "horrible one-sided deal" that did not address other issues such as Iran's ballistic missile program or its role in regional conflicts. His withdrawal prompted Tehran to retaliate, both by eventually pushing far beyond those enrichment and centrifuge limits and by scrapping the extra IAEA supervision put in place after the 2015 deal. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran on Tuesday. | Iran's Presidential website / WANA (West Asia News Agency) / via REUTERS Iran is still, however, providing IAEA inspectors with regular access to its facilities as part of longer-standing obligations as a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, under which there is no cap on enrichment levels but nuclear technology must be used for peaceful purposes. U.S. and Iranian negotiators started their new nuclear talks in April, with Trump having threatened military action if no pact is struck. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in Washington in April that it is important Iran accept "indispensable" restrictions to enable his agency to reassure the world about Iran's intentions, without specifying the curbs. He has also said last week any new deal should provide for "very robust inspection by the IAEA." The IAEA says it cannot currently "provide assurance that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful." Completing the puzzle Diplomats have for years expected that any new deal will task the IAEA with creating a baseline, a complete picture of where all areas of Iran's nuclear program stand, filling in gaps in the agency's knowledge as much as it can. Establishing a baseline will be particularly challenging since some blind spots have lasted so long they cannot fully be filled in; the IAEA has said in quarterly reports to member states it has lost "continuity of knowledge" and will not be able to restore it on production and inventory of centrifuges, certain centrifuge parts and yellowcake. "Assembling that puzzle will be an essential part of any deal. We know establishing that new baseline will be hard," said Eric Brewer, a former U.S. intelligence analyst now at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nongovernmental organization focused on security and based in Washington. "It will depend in part on how cooperative Iran is." Even then, there is a significant risk the IAEA would lack a complete picture of Tehran's activities, he added. "Is that uncertainty acceptable to the United States?" Brewer said. "Important question."
