Photos show crowds of desperate Palestinians struggling to get food
Hardly any food has entered northern Gaza for nearly four months. So when a rare convoy of aid trucks entered this week, gigantic crowds of desperate Palestinians were waiting for it.
They massed on what was once Gaza's coastal highway, now a vast stretch of dirt bulldozed by Israeli troops and surrounded by the ruins of bombardment. The convoy from the World Food Program had been heading to Gaza City, but it was quickly stripped almost bare. Men and women walked off with bags of flour slung over their shoulders or carrying boxes of food.
Israel has allowed only a trickle of aid into Gaza for the U.N. to distribute since Israel eased a total blockade last month. Israel says the blockade is meant to pressure Hamas, but it has led to widespread food shortages and famine warnings for the population of over 2 million. The U.N. says it struggles to get even the small amount of aid directly to Palestinians because of Israeli military restrictions, looting by armed criminals and incidents like this of Palestinians overwhelming trucks.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Internet and phone outage in much of Gaza disrupts humanitarian operations and deepens isolation
A breakdown in communications networks in central and southern Gaza has cut many Palestinians off from the outside world for the past week, further straining aid efforts and emergency services amid continuing Israeli bombardment. Israeli strikes damaged a main connection, cutting off communications in large areas of the strip since Tuesday, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The telecom company Paltel said Friday that internet and landline services were restored in some areas in southern Gaza, including Khan Younis, with repairs ongoing in other southern and central areas. Paltel warned in a statement to AP that ongoing attacks on the main network could make future maintenance impossible, especially due to a shortage of essential materials and resources. The Gaza Strip has experienced at least 10 communications partial and full outages since the war began in October 2023, according to Palestinian telecom company Paltel. This week's outage has impacted aid efforts, emergency services, suspended academic classes, and cut off displaced Palestinians from the rest of the territory. Palestinians in Gaza rely heavily on cell service, as unsafe roads and fuel shortages limit movement across the enclave. Humanitarians say those in affected areas will struggle to access information on aid and medical services or call for ambulances. 'Telecoms have been used as a weapon of war against civilians,' said Juliette Touma, communications director at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugee that is the main service provider in Gaza. The IDF didn't immediately respond to request for comment. The vast majority of UNRWA workers don't have connectivity in the areas affected by the outages. As a result, they and other aid workers have struggled to deliver aid and coordinate with one another, Touma told the AP. 'Sometimes we get a signal when a team member has the courage to go on the rooftop of a building, which is extremely dangerous under strikes, and they send us a message that they're alive. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is, but they're more sporadic and less regular,' said Touma. Some people rely on E-sims, but they are not compatible with all devices and can only work in certain areas. Unreliable mobile service Over 70% of telecommunications networks in Gaza has been partially or completely destroyed as of August 2024 since the war began, according to statistics released by the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Economy, cited by the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute. However, Paltel said technical teams offered some technical solutions that would restore services. When they hear nearby strikes, Palestinians without connection don't know whether evacuation orders are issued and where should they relocate to, said Shaina Low, the Norwegian Refugee Council's communications adviser. 'This also means that people are isolated. They can't communicate with their family and friends inside of Gaza and understand what the current situation is or get external support from networks outside,' she said. Limited or unreliable mobile service has made it difficult for ambulances and civil defense teams to reach people in need of life-saving assistance, Low added. Fikr Shalltoot, Gaza director for the group Medical Aid for Palestinians, said its doctors working in hospitals and clinics in effected areas can't document or share their work with managers. 'Targeted daily' Meanwhile, with Gaza's university campuses heavily damaged, the internet has become the only way to continue education. But outages have forced educators to cancel classes and exams. 'It is, unfortunately, like a never-ending vicious cycle of suffering because when this issue is resolved in the north, the problem appears in the south,' said Mohammed Shbair, vice president for administrative and financial affairs, at al-Azhar University in Gaza. 'Students cannot reach universities because they are destroyed, and they can't even reach areas where the internet is available in cafes or displacement tents, as they are now being targeted daily and systematically by Israeli strikes,' said Shbair, an associate professor of public law. Online banking, a key alternative amid cash shortages, has also become unavailable. Palestinians who rely on online transfers to pay suppliers can no longer do so under the current conditions, according to Low. The outage complicates humanitarian operations and adds to the 'toxic stress' families face daily, said UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram. 'In a context of incessant bombardments, mass casualty events linked to food distributions, rising malnutrition and dwindling access to clean water, connectivity is a real lifeline for families in Gaza,' she said.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food
CAIRO/GAZA, June 19 (Reuters) - Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, miles-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother-of-four had to duck down and hide behind a pile of rubble on the side of the road as gunshots echoed nearby. "You either come back carrying (food) for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset (without food) and your children will cry," said Nawajha, 38, a resident of Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. "This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it anymore." In the past two days, dozens of Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations and international relief agencies, Gaza medics said. On Thursday, medics said at least 40 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of killings of people seeking food. Twenty-eight people were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 12 people, including women and children, near a mosque in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on Thursday's incident. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and fired warning shots to disperse people who approached areas where troops were operating, posing a threat. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties among civilians. Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new U.S.- and Israeli-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. The Gaza health ministry said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The United Nations rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies. There was no immediate GHF comment on Thursday's incident. On Wednesday, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed 3 million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident. The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on Thursday that more than 1 million people were without adequate shelter, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1. Nawajha returned empty-handed on Wednesday from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City, where she has been displaced and sheltering with her family. She and her sister have been camping by the road for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site where trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off U.N. trucks. "(When) there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry," said Nawajha. "When we are for three, four kilometres or more on our legs... Oh my... our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off."
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Doomsday prepper reveals $430,000 personal bunker ‘for WW3 protection' and steps you can take to start stockpiling
A DOOMSDAY prepper who has a personal bunker with goods worth $430,000 has shared an urgent warning as tensions rise from global conflicts. Rowan MacKenzie is well-known for her expert advice in preparing for any disaster – including the end of the world. 9 9 9 Following escalating strikes between Iran and Israel, the 40-year-old is sharing what she believes to be crucial advice for anyone worried about possible gray-zone attacks. Rowan has admitted that she is concerned that World War III is just around the corner, so is preparing how she sees fit. 'Gray-zone attacks are exactly what the name says – it's the gray area between a time of war and peace,' the homemaker and estate agent told NeedToKnow. 'It's something we preppers consider when stockpiling. 'They need to be taken extremely seriously, as the economic crash can be just as disastrous as an actual physical war. MacKenzie also revealed how many days' worth of items to have in your stockpile at the very minimum. '[You should] stockpile at least 72 hours' worth of essentials. 'This includes water, food, medications [and] power sources, such as rechargeable batteries," she explained. 'Keep a wind-up radio nearby to stay informed if the internet goes down. 'Learn basic first aid and fire safety. 9 9 9 'Practice emergency routines with household members, especially little ones. 'Get to know your local resilience forum and available services. 'As defense evolves, so too must public readiness.' Although gray-zone attacks might not involve tanks or other weaponry, their impact can be just as severe on society. Rowan, from the US, says her own prepping is no longer a hobby – she now considers it a necessity. She added: 'It's becoming more and more practiced worldwide. 'It never hurts to protect the people you love. 'Don't panic; make a list and execute. 'I've said it time and time again, you've got to be prepared for anything at any time.' 9 9 9
