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 told Reuters 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 meagre amount of cooked potato.
Everyone was hungry so they filled up by drinking water.
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 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 October 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.
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 US-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 UN 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.
UN 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.
'WE HAVE NO SAY IN THIS WAR'
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.
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, November 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, yoghurt and bread, and lunches and dinners of meat, rice, chicken and vegetables.
Her 16-year-old daughter Malik talked about burgers, chocolate and soda.
"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
Arab News
19 hours ago
- Arab News
Saudi leadership hails successful Hajj 2025 and praises efforts of all involved
RIYADH: King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday expressed their gratitude and appreciation to the authorities involved in organizing the 2025 Hajj season, praising the efforts that contributed to its success, the Saudi Press Agency reported. In separate cables sent to Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef, both leaders thanked the minister, regional governors, committee members, and all security, civil, and government personnel who took part in delivering a smooth and safe pilgrimage for nearly 1.7 million worshippers. King Salman described the season as a success by the grace of God and the coordinated execution of comprehensive security, health, organizational, and service plans. He highlighted the pilgrims' ability to perform their rituals with ease and peace of mind, in a secure and spiritual atmosphere. 'We followed with pride the great efforts made by all sectors in serving the pilgrims of the house of Allah,' the King said. 'We were pleased with the dedication and excellence shown by everyone in attaining the honor of serving the guests of the most Gracious.' The king also thanked all those involved for their Eid Al-Adha greetings, prayed for the acceptance of the pilgrims' Hajj, and asked God to grant continued success in serving Islam and Muslims. Prince Mohammed echoed the sentiments, expressing thanks for the congratulations and for the collective commitment shown throughout the season. He attributed the successful management of the Hajj to divine support, the leadership of King Salman, and the tireless work of all entities involved in executing the wide-ranging plans. He also praised the careful monitoring by relevant authorities to ensure the comfort and safety of pilgrims. 'We pray to God to protect the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to sustain the blessings of security on our homeland, and to accept the Hajj of all pilgrims,' the crown prince said. The Hajj season this year saw 1,673,230 pilgrims perform their rites.
Arab News
19 hours ago
- Arab News
The Feud over Falafel
A crispy clash of cultures and identity The humble falafel, a simple mixture of ground beans, herbs and spices shaped into a ball or patty and deep-fried, is inextricably linked with the Middle East but now finds itself on menus in virtually every country in the world. But this very ubiquity of a food, equally at home on a street vendor's cart in Cairo or a plate in an upmarket Parisian restaurant, has obscured its origins. On World Falafel Day, Arab News takes a closer look at this seemingly simple snack that has a surprisingly complex backstory rooted in some of the darker moments of history, empire-building and colonialism. Although it might seem like it has been around forever, falafel — claimed as a national dish by almost all peoples in the Middle East — may in fact date back only as far as the late-19th century, and quite possibly owes its creation to hungry British soldiers. A postcard titled 'Egyptian Types and Scenes' showing a foul and falafel 'Ta'meya' street vendors in Egypt in 1923. Publ. Levy L.L. A postcard titled 'Egyptian Types and Scenes' showing a foul and falafel 'Ta'meya' street vendors in Egypt in 1923. Publ. Levy L.L. According to French journalist Paul Balta and Syrian historian Farouk Mardam-Bey, the first known appearance of falafel was in Egypt after the British occupied the country in 1882. In their works, they both suggest that British officers, having developed a taste for fried vegetable croquettes in India, might have asked Egyptian cooks to come up with a local version. In the 2012 edition of 'The Mediterranean Diet for Sustainable Regional Development,' for example, Balta wrote that falafels are 'hardly mentioned in literature before the 20th century and only appear after the occupation of Egypt by the English in 1882.' He continues: 'The Egyptians were inspired, to enhance them, by other types of fried croquettes (fish, meat, vegetable) originating from India and introduced by the British troops who, coming from India, liked them.' Historian Shaul Stampfer, professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , supports this theory. In 'Bagel and Falafel: Two Iconic Jewish Foods and One Modern Jewish Identity,' a paper published in 2016, he wrote that many fried foods in India that were similar in shape and consistency to falafel predated it. Moreover, he added, Jews in Kerala and Calcutta, along with their neighbors, commonly ate a food known as 'parippu vada' or 'filowri' — fried balls made from ground split green peas — that are 'strikingly similar to falafel.' Top: A woman selling Aish (bread) and Taameya (falafel) in the market of Kerdasa, Giza in 1950 circa. Digitized Collections of the Greek Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA). Above: A Palestinian man makes falafel at a market during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Jerusalem. NurPhoto via Getty Images Top: A woman selling Aish (bread) and Taameya (falafel) in the market of Kerdasa, Giza in 1950 circa. Digitized Collections of the Greek Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA). Above: A Palestinian man makes falafel at a market during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Jerusalem. NurPhoto via Getty Images Nawal Nasrallah, a food writer, historian and translator of medieval cookbooks, told Arab News: 'While we do not have concrete evidence, in the form of recipes or mention of it in ancient written records, of where falafel specifically originated, a credible claim for Egypt can still be made.' Certainly, for a dish made from such simple ingredients, falafel's complex history remains a contentious topic in the region. Nasrallah suggests that Coptic Christians in Egypt played a 'credible role' in the development of falafel. 'With legumes like chickpeas and fava beans they already knew at the time, they must have developed countless meatless dishes for their Lent fasting days, and it is not far-fetched to believe that the now ubiquitous falafel has been developed by them,' she said. Many believe that falafel did indeed originate in the 19th century in the Egyptian port of Alexandria, at the time a base for British and other European troops, before spreading to other parts of the country under the now-common local name 'ta'miyya,' which translates literally as 'small piece of food.' Although it is not known exactly when the name ta'miyya was coined, it is a transliteration based on the Arabic root word طعم, Nasrallah said. 'The name falafel, on the other hand, apparently has a more ancient origin that may be traced all the way back to the to the ancient Akkadian language of the Assyrians and Babylonians of ancient Iraq,' she added. Nasrallah cites an Akkadian dictionary that includes the word 'pillu,' meaning 'fruit/seed,' which she says is related 'no doubt, to the pulse seeds' referenced by 'the later-adapted Arabic form of the word, 'ful' (meaning fava beans).' She continues: 'It is quite likely that the Akkadian name 'pillu' was adopted and adapted in subsequent languages, like Aramaic, Coptic and Arabic, into 'ful,' and the plural 'falafel,' to designate a dish with many pulses.' A group of donkeys stands near a falafel vendor in East Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1935. Photo by Zoltan Kluger via the National Photo Collection of Israel A group of donkeys stands near a falafel vendor in East Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1935. Photo by Zoltan Kluger via the National Photo Collection of Israel Writing in 2019 in the magazine History Today, British historian Alexander Lee traced the spread of falafel, first throughout Egypt and then, shortly after the First World War, to Lebanon, Yemen, Turkiye and Libya. 'All those who adopted it made it their own,' Lee wrote. 'Though they generally left the basic recipe unchanged, they altered the ingredients slightly to suit their own tastes or to reflect the balance of local agriculture. 'In the Egyptian town of Mersa Matruh, for example, fava beans were replaced with hyacinth beans and a bit of beef. In the Levant, chickpeas were used instead.' Soon enough, falafel reached early Jewish communities in Palestine. 'Together with the indigenous population, the earliest settlers (halutzim) adopted it readily,' Lee wrote. 'Having long grown used to cultural exchange with their Muslim neighbors, they gave no thought to whether it was an 'Arab' food or not. They simply integrated it into their own cuisine, as they had countless other foods.' That all changed with the wave of Jewish migration to Palestine from Eastern Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, Lee added: 'Suspicious of anything they regarded as 'Arabic', they stuck doggedly to their own cuisine, shunning falafel as an 'alien' dish. Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, and the wave of Jewish immigration from Europe that followed, changed Jewish attitudes toward falafel once again. Short of cash and food, and facing a flood of new citizens, the embryonic Israeli government introduced rationing and this, wrote Lee, 'boosted falafel's popularity. Not only was it a good source of protein, but its ingredients were also readily available even to the poorest families.' Another factor that restored the reputation of falafel in Israel was the arrival of tens of thousands of Jewish Arabs from countries such as Yemen and Turkiye, who brought with them their love of the food. 'Not only did it help to convince their still-skeptical co-religionists that falafel genuinely was a suitable food for Jews, but it also allowed falafel to shed its associations with the Arab peoples,' Lee wrote. 'This was something the Israeli government was glad to encourage. In the wake of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-49, there was a concerted effort to foster a distinctive sense of Israeli national identity and … the Israeli government avidly promoted the idea that falafel had been imported not from Egypt but from Yemen. 'It was a patent falsehood, but it served its purpose. ' Israelis eating at a Tel Aviv falafel stall, 1958. Jewish immigrants from Arab countries played a key role in popularizing this food, which the Israeli government then leveraged to foster a national identity and combat food scarcity. Photo by Fritz Cohen via the National Photo Collection of Israel Israelis eating at a Tel Aviv falafel stall, 1958. Jewish immigrants from Arab countries played a key role in popularizing this food, which the Israeli government then leveraged to foster a national identity and combat food scarcity. Photo by Fritz Cohen via the National Photo Collection of Israel Regarding such politicization of the food, Nasrallah said: 'I do not believe that a dish like falafel can be claimed to have its home in an individual country. Rather, the entire region may credibly be claimed to be its home.' The unassuming falafel has not only sparked rivalries between nations that claim its origins, it has even divided families. In 1933, Mustafa Sahyoun began selling falafel from a street cart on Beshara Khoury Street in downtown Beirut, and eventually established a storefront that still operates today. His legacy was passed to two of his sons, Zoheir and Fouad. The Lebanese Civil War strained the brothers' relationship as they found themselves living on opposite sides of the divided city. Yet, their bond endured and they braved Beirut's dangerous no-man's land — the so-called Green Line that at the time separated the capital's Christian east from the Muslim west, where the store was located — to support each other when they could. By 2006, however, the brothers had fallen out completely. Zoheir continued to run the original Sahyoun falafel shop, while Fouad opened a competing vendor next door, boldly displaying red signs declaring his store to be 'Falafel M. Sahyoun.' A tale of two shops: The Sahyoun brothers, Fouad and Zoheir, operated their rival falafel stalls right next to each other on Beshara Khoury Street in downtown Beirut. However, economic challenges led to the closure of Fouad's shop in 2021. Supplied A tale of two shops: The Sahyoun brothers, Fouad and Zoheir, operated their rival falafel stalls right next to each other on Beshara Khoury Street in downtown Beirut. However, economic challenges led to the closure of Fouad's shop in 2021. Supplied The latter shut up shop in 2021, citing the effects of the long-running economic crisis in the country, but Sahyoun falafel remains an iconic business in Lebanon, attracting both locals and tourists. Even world-renowned celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain visited both shops in 2010 for his hit TV show 'No Reservations.' By the 1960s, geopolitics had once again sent falafel on its travels. Arab immigrants heading west to escape conflict and turmoil introduced falafel to Europe and North America as a common street food that could easily be made and sold from a cart. In Germany, after initially gaining significant traction among the country's large Turkish community, falafel quickly found its way onto the wider German food scene as well. By the 1970s, Turkish food stalls and restaurants were thriving, serving up falafel to an ever-expanding clientele and inspiring new variations on the recipe. Across the Atlantic, falafel had also arrived in the US, where it established a foothold among migrant communities during the 1960s and 1970s, soon winning over a wider audience and spreading farther afield. 'Fusion' versions of the food began to pop up on menus, including falafel au gratin, falafel sliders and falafel cake, and renowned chefs better known for their eccentric and expensive culinary creations began to develop a taste for the once-humble street food. In 2014, for example, American celebrity chef Bobby Flay prepared a 'smashed falafel' dish on his TV show 'Beat Bobby Flay.' It featured a deconstructed falafel sandwich paired with pomegranate tahini and a pan-roasted jalapeno pesto yogurt. A few years earlier, in 2011, Israeli American chef Michael Solomonov appeared on reality show 'Iron Chef America' and showcased a variation on falafel that incorporated passion fruit and amba (a tangy mango pickle), served alongside tuna carpaccio stuffed with tabbouleh. Now, thousands of restaurants all around the world proudly serve up falafel in every imaginable style, including bold — to some, perhaps, sacrilegious — creations such as falafel pizza, sushi or even tacos. Created, it seems, in Egypt in the 19th century, the descendant of a relative from India, its conception a by-product of the ambitions of a once-mighty empire, falafel has traveled far and wide and found itself at the heart of some of the great geopolitical upheavals of the modern age. In a sense representative of history on a plate, there is no longer anything humble about the all-conquering falafel. COMMON INGREDIENTS Base The base is made of fava beans, chickpeas or a mix of both. Herbs Typically include parsley, cilantro, and sometimes dill. Spices Include cumin, coriander seeds, black pepper, and occasionally cayenne pepper or chili. Binders While some recipes use flour or breadcrumbs to hold the mixture together, traditional falafel often binds solely with chickpea starch. TOOLS AND COOKING METHODS Kitchen tools Food processor, mixing bowl, strainer, frying pan or deep fryer, tongs, and paper towels for draining. Writing: Zaira Lakhpatwala, Jonathan Gornall Editor: Tarek Ali Ahmad Research: Gabriele Malvisi, Sherouk Maher Creative director: Omar Nashashibi Design & Graphics: Douglas Okasaki Picture researcher: Sheila Mayo Copy editor: Liam Cairney Editor-in-Chief: Faisal J. Abbas
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Gaza child survivor of Israeli strike heads to Italy
A 10-year-old Palestinian boy who survived an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month which killed his father and nine siblings was due to arrive in Italy Wednesday for treatment. Adam and his mother, pediatrician Alaa al-Najjar, were due to fly to Milan in northern Italy on Wednesday evening alongside his aunt and four cousins, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. 'Adam will arrive in Milan and will be admitted to the Niguarda (hospital), because he has multiple fractures and he will be treated there,' Tajani told Rtl radio. A plane carrying Palestinians in need of medical care is scheduled to land at 7:30 pm (1730 GMT) at Milan's Linate airport, according to the foreign ministry. Adam had a hand amputated and suffered severe burns across his body following the strike on the family house in the city of Khan Younis on May 23. His mother was at work when the bomb hit the house, killing nine of her children and injuring Adam and his father, doctor Hamdi al-Najjar, who died last week. Al-Najjar, who ran to the house to find her children charred beyond recognition, told Italy's Repubblica daily: 'I remember everything. Every detail, every minute, every scream.' 'But when I remember it's too painful, so I try to keep my mind focused entirely on Adam,' she said in an interview published Wednesday ahead of their arrival. Asked by his mother during the interview to describe his hopes, Adam said he wanted to 'live in a beautiful place.' 'A beautiful place is a place where there are no bombs. In a beautiful place the houses are not broken and I go to school,' he said, according to La Repubblica. 'Schools have desks, the kids study their lessons but then they go play in the courtyard and nobody dies. 'A beautiful place is where they operate on my arm and my arm works again. In a beautiful place my mother is not sad. They told me that Italy is a beautiful place.' Al-Najjar said she has packed the Quran, their documents and Adam's clothes. 'I am heartbroken. I am leaving behind everything that was important to me. My husband, my children, the hospital where I worked, my job, my patients,' she said. 'People are dying of hunger. If not of hunger, of bombs. We would just like to live in peace,' she told the daily. The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Gaza says at least 54,981 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable.
