One meal a day. $20 for an egg. Choosing which kid gets fed. Starvation stalks Gaza
Such is the plight of Gazans like Amal Nassar, 35, an English teacher from Deir Al-Balah, in the central part of the Palestinian enclave. Nassar, her three children and husband are among more than 2 million Gazans who remain trapped almost two years since the war that began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
"We don't have enough to eat," Nassar said in a WhatsApp message over the weekend. USA TODAY previously wrote about Nassar's story of giving birth to her daughter Mira in a war zone without access to pain relief.
On July 28, for the second day running, Israel paused its military operations in Gaza to "improve the humanitarian response." That follows a series of alarming warnings from world leaders and global officials, from the United Nations' World Health Organization, and from dozens of humanitarian agencies that malnutrition and even starvation in Gaza is on a "dangerous trajectory."
Israel-Gaza: What to know Gaza as starvation spreads
The United Nations' World Food Programme says a third of Gaza's population does not eat for several days at a time. Every one in four Gazans, it says, is "enduring famine-like conditions." The Hamas-run health ministry, the chief source of health data in Gaza, says more than 100 people have died from malnutrition in recent days.
Israel refutes claims that it is intentionally starving Gaza
Israel refutes all claims that it is intentionally starving Gaza's population. It accuses the United Nations of failing to collect and distribute aid sitting on Gaza's border. For nearly two years, it has also accused Hamas of stealing aid for Gaza's desperate and hungry population and using it as a weapon of control.
"There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 28. He called suggestions there is a "bold-faced lie," prompting a response from President Donald Trump while he was on a golf trip in Scotland.
"From what I see on TV, I can say those kids look starving," Trump said. ''We're sending a lot of money and a lot of food. The children in Gaza must receive food and security immediately."
Pregnant in Gaza: women face starvation, no anesthesia
Going hungry in Gaza
Recent reports indicate there's not much evidence of systematic Hamas aid theft. Amid growing international pressure, Israel has also allowed the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to resume aid drops of flour, sugar and canned foods over Gaza. But aid workers say that tactic is not as effective as convoys of trucks.
Even large transport planes can't carry as much aid as truck convoys. They can also be dangerous. It's not uncommon for aid drop from planes to injure or even kill those who are trying to get to them.
"We need more food to be able to enter Gaza," said Beckie Ryan, the Gaza response director for CARE, an aid group. Ryan is in Deir Al-Balah. CARE runs a health clinic there. She said "everyone is hungry." She also said her clinic has seen a spike in cases of children who are either malnourished or acutely malnourished, and that soaring summer temperatures combined with limited water supplies are exacerbating the situation.
Ryan also said cases like Nassar's were fairly typical in Gaza right now. Most people are limited to one meal a day. They are having to chose which of their children gets food. Because no cash has been allowed into Gaza for almost two years, and markets only accept cash, those who are still lucky enough to be earning a salary are having to pay as much as double to effectively buy the cash they need to pay for the limited goods for sale.
Ryan said there are "multiple layers" that explain why it's been so hard to get food to Gazans. However, she said the most important thing is "access to the thousands of trucks that are sitting in Egypt and Jordan. It's the quickest and most efficient way. Right now our ability to move those trucks is extremely limited."
For Nasser, where the food comes from or who's to blame for the lack of it is of secondary importance.
She said she and her husband don't dare go near aid distribution centers run the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor. They are too scared. It is backed by the United States and Israel but not the United Nations. The international body has reported hundreds of deaths of Palestinians trying to access these centers. Some of those deaths have been linked, by the United Nations, to Israeli gunfire and shelling. GHF has accused the United Nations of "false and exaggerated statistics" over these deaths.
Nasser said that weeks can go by without her family eating a single piece of fresh fruit or a vegetable. She said that one diaper for her daughter, Mira, can cost as much as $10 with the extra fees for cash. She uses plastic bags when she can't afford diapers but they give Mira rashes that bleed. She said she constantly worries about her children. They are losing weight. She herself is newly pregnant, exhausted and often feels dizzy.
"Our situation," she said, "is really horrible."
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