Latest news with #MohamedElSaife
3 days ago
- Politics
Protests, warnings of 'catastrophic consequences' confront Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City
Forced into tents on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea or huddling in the rubble, Palestinians have been running for their lives through 22 months of war. Dodging bullets and Israeli airstrikes while chasing scarce food, some two million people are squeezed into less than 100 square kilometers. And it seems they're about to be squeezed again. Najla Abu Jarad's family is squatting on the outskirts of Gaza City, Israel's next target. They want to remove us, but to where? asked the 60-year-old. What's left in Gaza? According to the United Nations, 86 per cent of the territory is already within the Israeli-militarized zone or subject to evacuation orders (new window) . Enlarge image (new window) Najla Abu Jarad, 60, speaks with CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife near her tent on the outskirts of Gaza City on Thursday. She says there is nowhere left for her family to go in Gaza, as military occupation expands. Photo: CBC / Mohamed El Saife There are many uncertainties around Israel's new plans to expand military occupation, even as its first step — taking control of Gaza City — was approved by government ministers and reluctant generals at a security cabinet meeting that lasted 10 hours and dragged into the early hours of Friday. The stated aims are to disarm Hamas and free the 20 remaining Israeli hostages believed to be alive — goals that have eluded Israel despite its overwhelming military power. In order to achieve them now, Israel is edging toward a full Israeli occupation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting at it. When asked in a Fox News Channel interview on Thursday whether Israel will take control of Gaza, Netanyahu replied, We intend to. We don't want to keep it, he continued, we don't want to govern it. WATCH | Netanyahu says Israel intends to take full control of Gaza: Instead, he said Israel wants to replace Hamas, the militant group which has ruled Gaza since 2007, with Arab forces that will govern it properly, without threatening Israel, he said. No Arab country has publicly agreed to take on that role, and Israel has rejected handing control of Gaza to the Palestinian group that runs parts of the occupied West Bank, Hamas's political rival, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority. Israel has also refused a proposal presented by Egypt (new window) in March to create a government made up of independent Palestinian technocrats. Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing almost 1,200 Israelis and taking some 250 people hostage. Since then, the resulting ground war and Israeli airstrikes have left more than 61,000 Palestinians dead, according to figures supplied by the Gaza Health Ministry. In both cases, the numbers include fighters and civilians. Opposition at home and abroad After nearly two years of war, Israel's military says it currently controls 75 per cent of Gaza, avoiding areas where it believes the 20 remaining living hostages are being held. The next step could be to take over all of the territory. Enlarge image (new window) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the audience at a conference in Jerusalem on July 27. In a recent interview, Netanyahu confirmed Israel 'intends' to take full control of Gaza, adding, 'We don't want to keep it.' Photo: Associated Press / Ohad Zwigenberg We are setting up everything to go in, Israel's deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel told CBC News. Haskel, who was born in Canada, said the process will mean up to two weeks of moving forces from Israel's north into Gaza, followed by a four- to six-month military campaign to bring hostages home and to disarm Hamas. The plan has already run into stiff opposition, both abroad and in Israel. Germany immediately halted arms exports that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice. The European Union said Israel's plan to expand its military operation must be reconsidered. Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, condemned the move. Earlier this week, the UN warned of catastrophic consequences for Gazans and Israeli hostages. Enlarge image (new window) A demonstrator clenches his fist as he shouts slogans during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The protest took place outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on Thursday. Photo: afp via getty images / Ahmad Gharabli And even as Israel's security cabinet met, protesters clashed with police in Tel Aviv and yelled outside Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, demanding a negotiated deal which would end fighting and bring the hostages home. Recent public opinion polls (new window) suggest 74 per cent of Israelis share that view. To continue the war is a disaster for the Palestinians and for us the Israelis as well, said protester Naomi Granot. Israel's military and security establishments also oppose the escalation of war. Military chief of staff Eyal Zamir clashed with Netanyahu several times this week over the expanded mission for his force, reportedly in a tense three-hour meeting on Tuesday, and again last night. Zamir has warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, from which it withdrew two decades ago. It could also risk harm to the hostages being held there, government sources told Reuters. (new window) 200,000 more soldiers If the government does plan to go ahead with a full occupation, the next sign will be an order to call up more reserve soldiers, said Janice Stein, a specialist in the Middle East at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. According to the Israel Hayom daily newspaper, 200,000 reservists are required for the operation in Gaza City alone. But when military leaders are saying there are no further military objectives to meet and further military action risks the needless deaths of reserve soldiers and the hostages, it is extremely difficult to call up reserve soldiers, Stein said. Enlarge image (new window) Families gather on the outskirts of Gaza City on Thursday. On Friday, Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to expand its military occupation into Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave. Photo: CBC / Mohamed El Saife On the other hand, there remains political pressure from far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition government to continue fighting until total victory is reached, as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir keeps reminding the prime minister. Netanyahu needs this support to stay in power. Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have been labelled extremist for their ties to Israel's radical settler movement, and sanctioned by Canada (new window) , Britain and other countries as threats to "international peace and security" by promoting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. They see Gaza as territory ripe for new settlements, and have pushed policies promoting voluntary migration of Palestinians out of the enclave. It's real, Smotrich told a conference last week marking the anniversary of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza. For 20 years, we called [the re-establishment of settlements in Gaza] wishful thinking. It seems to me it is now a real working plan. Many Palestinians say that's what's behind Netanyahu's plans for the occupation. It's going to be accompanied by a push to get people out, said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian Canadian lawyer who used to advise the Palestine Liberation Organization and lives in Haifa. The idea of occupation is meant to be temporary, but in Israel's case, it's not. It becomes a permanent feature accompanied by the erasure of people in order to build Israeli-only settlements. The Israeli government says this is not its policy in Gaza. WATCH | Why aid distribution is failing in Gaza: Meanwhile, aid groups are also sounding the alarm. A broader war in the enclave will make Gaza's humanitarian crisis even more dire, they say, and the delivery of food and medicine more restricted and dangerous. Already, the UN says (new window) almost 1,400 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli troops and private security contractors near aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an alternate group supported by Israel and the United States. The GHF and Israel dispute the shootings and that their system is ineffective, saying tightly controlled aid delivery is needed so that Hamas does not hijack shipments. Enlarge image (new window) Palestinian women search the sand for legumes or rice in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, following an air-drop mission above territory on Tuesday. Photo: afp via getty images / Eyad Baba Netanyahu has even denied reports of famine (new window) in the enclave. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza, he told a Christian conference in Jerusalem two weeks ago, triggering a heated phone call with Donald Trump, where the U.S. president challenged Netanayhu, NBC News (new window) reported. Israel's current aid system is one that Doctors Without Borders calls a militarized food distribution scheme that is weaponizing starvation. Sana Bég, executive director of the group's Canadian operations, worries the failure to address the humanitarian crisis will be entrenched if the war spreads. Are we at a tipping point today as a result of this? All points have been tipped, she said. Are we at a make it or break it situation? We are already beyond breaking. Saša Petricic (new window) · CBC News · Senior Correspondent Saša Petricic is a senior correspondent for CBC News, specializing in international coverage. He previously reported from Beijing as CBC's Asia correspondent, focusing on China, Hong Kong, and North and South Korea. Before that, he covered the Middle East from Jerusalem through the Arab Spring and wars in Syria, Gaza and Libya. He has filed stories from every continent. More from Saša Petricic (new window) With files from Mohamed El Saife
CBC
05-08-2025
- General
- CBC
Military plane drops food aid into Gaza
A freelance videographer working for CBC News was on the ground in central Gaza Monday at the same time as a Canadian military plane was dropping aid from above. Mohamed El Saife ran with his camera alongside Palestinians trying to reach the falling parachutes, witnessing the chaos as people rushed to grab whatever they could get.
04-08-2025
- General
Canadian Forces airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza for the first time
The Canadian Armed Forces made their first humanitarian airdrop over Gaza on Monday using their own aircraft — delivering 9,800 kilograms of aid to Palestinians, according to Global Affairs Canada. CBC News had exclusive access to the Canadian effort, which delivered food supplies like lentils, oil, milk powder and pasta using a CC-130J Hercules aircraft that departed from a Jordanian airbase. The drop was part of an attempt by six countries to alleviate the hunger crisis in the Palestinian territory (new window) . Canada is taking these exceptional measures with our international partners as access to humanitarian aid in Gaza is severely restricted and humanitarian needs have reached an unprecedented level, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement published Monday afternoon. Despite the scale of need, humanitarian partners face severe challenges in delivering life-saving food and medical assistance by land due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli government. In an interview with CBC News, Maj. Cam MacKay with the 436 Transport Squadron said the team is very motivated to do this mission. There are people that are very much in need of that aid on the ground, and for us to be able to assist Global Affairs Canada and being able to deliver that aid, it feels very good, he said. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on social media (new window) that 120 aid packages containing food for the residents of the Gaza Strip were airdropped by six different countries, including Canada, which joined the airdrop operations for the first time today. The other five countries were Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Germany and Belgium, the IDF said. Palestinians plead for more aid CBC News' freelance videographer in Gaza, Mohamed El Saife, captured footage on the ground at the same time as the Canadian plane was over Gaza. It was a chaotic scene as Palestinians rushed to an aid dropsite in the Nuseirat area in central Gaza. Upon arrival at the site, men and women pushed each other, and some children could be seen climbing over the desperate crowds to get closer to the humanitarian aid. Look at the humiliation so I could get [aid], 30-year-old Muhammad Ammar said in Arabic. Everyone is cutting and killing people because they torment us. They don't want us to eat. Enlarge image (new window) Palestinians crowd around a humanitarian aid dropsite in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza on Monday. CBC News' freelance videographer captured footage on the ground at the same time as the Canadian plane was over the territory. Photo: CBC / Mohamed El Saife Ahmad Ayesh, 26, was holding a can of food that was completely crushed as crowds rushed to pick up the aid. Ayesh told CBC News that of course we feel humiliated. Open the [border] crossings and let aid through normally. Israel has slightly loosened its tight restrictions on food and medicine reaching the Gaza Strip in response to an international outcry over starvation in the Palestinian territory. Aid experts have said that airdrops are vastly less effective than truck convoys. Some of the pallets dropped by air earlier this week have fallen into the sea, and at least one has struck and killed Palestinians on the ground. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including airdrops, pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. WATCH | Canada airdrops humanitarian aid in Gaza using its own aircraft: Karen Bongard, political counsellor of the Canadian Embassy in Jordan, told CBC News that the level of humanitarian crisis in Gaza is intolerable, and Canada understands that airdrops are insufficient to meet the full needs of the people on the ground in Gaza. However, when there's this level of human suffering, inaction is not an option.... Airdrops are a last resort, but Canada stands committed to peace and security in this region and will continue to intensify our efforts to reach our goals, Bongard said. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on social media (new window) on Monday afternoon that the Canadian Forces airdropped life-saving aid into Gaza and that Canada is working with international partners to develop a credible peace plan and will ensure aid moves forward at the necessary scale. Canada plans to recognize Palestinian state The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. Last week, Carney cited Israel's aid restrictions and the need to preserve a path to a two-state solution as reasons for declaring that Canada would officially recognize the state of Palestine. He said the move is conditional on the Palestinian Authority undertaking serious reforms and holding an election next year for the first time in two decades. WATCH | PM Mark Carney says Canada will recognize Palestinian state: Canada has for years called for a two-state solution, which means the eventual creation of a Palestinian state that would exist in peace alongside Israel. Before last week's announcement, Ottawa had been suggesting this would come at the end of peace talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Canada plans to recognize Palestinian state in September (new window) But the federal government said last fall that recognition might come sooner because of the spread of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of Israel's military operation. Carney cited both concerns in his announcement on Wednesday. Iddo Moed, Israel's ambassador to Canada, told CBC's Power & Politics the same day that Canada's decision would embolden Hamas. With files from Mohamed El Saife, Adrian Di Virgilio, Yasmine Hassan, Sara Jabakhanji, CP
25-06-2025
- Health
Why are hundreds of Palestinians getting killed trying to access food in Gaza?
The floor of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza is streaked with fresh blood as 146 injured Palestinians lie there waiting to be treated after people were shot while trying to reach an aid distribution site for food. The scene Tuesday was the latest in nearly daily violent incidents near aid centres one month after distribution was taken over by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF has drawn controversy since replacing UN-run relief operations in Gaza for using private American contractors and forcing people past Israel Defence Forces soldiers on the perimeter to reach these hubs. As of Wednesday, 549 people have been killed and more than 4,000 have been injured while attempting to reach GHF sites or waiting for other aid trucks to arrive since the new system began operating on May 27, according to the Gaza-run Health Ministry. We went to go get food for our children, Mahmoud Abu Armana, 26, told CBC News Tuesday. "They said the [road] opened so the vehicles went in and they started to fire upon the people walking. We were running … the [Israeli military] were spraying us down with their guns. People started to lay on top of one another. They were supposedly opening the distribution centre and told people to come and grab [the aid]. Why are they executing us? Blood is shown smeared on the floor of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday after Palestinians were fired upon as they tried to reach an aid distribution site in the Netzarim area. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC) Photo: (Mohamed El Saife/CBC) Hospital officials say 19 deaths Tuesday resulted from gunfire. Israel's military said that a gathering overnight was identified adjacent to forces operating in Gaza's central Netzarim Corridor, and it was reviewing reports of casualties. The deaths come as humanitarian groups and UN agencies continue to slam the distribution system, saying it forces people to risk their lives by entering combat zones where they are repeatedly fired upon while trying to access food. Civilans and health officials in Gaza have largely blamed the deaths on the Israeli military. Multiple people have told CBC News on the ground in Gaza that they have been fired upon by the Israeli forces just several kilometres away from the GHF sites. Israel's military has said in connection with several incidents that it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near aid sites. WATCH | Palestinians describe deadly violence near aid sites: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? 'It's designed to fail': Save the Children director criticizes Gaza aid delivery after fatal shootings Rachael Cummings, a humanitarian director with Save the Children in Gaza, says the lack of trust with locals and the unpredictable nature of the aid distribution since the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched in the territory, has contributed to the violence reported near the sites. Palestinian gangs have also been blamed by witnesses for some of the violence that erupts near the areas where aid is expected to arrive. The Red Cross said the vast majority of patients who arrived at its Gaza field hospital during mass casualty incidents in the past month had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid at or around distribution points. Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director for Save the Children, says the further bloodshed as parents try to scavenge for food for their children is a result of a dangerous aid mechanism that is designed to fail — pointing at a range of causes including a lack of trust among locals, an inability to reach those most vulnerable and difficulty controlling the chaotic crowds. Lack of trust on the ground Cummings said the key to distributing aid in Gaza in a calm, safe and dignified way is the engagement and relationship with the community. If people know that there's a predictable nature around the distribution, that they know today is not my day, but tomorrow will be my day, then [they] can react calmly and again we can facilitate safe and dignified distributions, Cummings told CBC News on Monday. The distribution system GHF uses is not aid, it is not humanitarian, it is not based on need and it doesn't follow humanitarian principles, said Cummings. It's designed to fail. It's designed to be dangerous — and that's exactly what we're seeing. WATCH | Save the Children humanitarian director says NGOs are unable to 'do their jobs': Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? 'We saw death': Palestinians describe violence near GHF aid sites on Monday At least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded in Israeli fire near an aid distribution site in Rafah on Monday, according to medics. The deaths are the latest in mass shootings that have killed at least 300 Palestinians in the past several weeks, Gaza's Health Ministry says, as they try to access food through the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's distribution system. Cummings said civilians have complained of unpredictable opening times and amounts of food and no list of people who are eligible for food on that day — resulting in a survival of the fittest for people to get their hands on the life-saving assistance. People are being forced into making decisions. They're not choices. They're forced into making decisions for the survival of their family, she said, adding that she has seen men carrying knives out of fear of being robbed while walking away with the aid. In an email to CBC News, a GHF spokesperson denied that its three sites — two in southern Gaza and one in the north — were dangerous, saying it delivered aid in a secure, controlled, accountable manner — eliminating the risk of diversion. It added that the group works daily to establish trust with people on the ground. In a report Tuesday, GHF said that it formally raised complaints with the Israeli Defence Forces of possible harassment by Israeli soldiers directed at its convoys that were en route to its northern distribution site. Al-Awda has been treating dozens of wounded in similar incidents last week. The hospital treated more than 60 wounded and received 10 bodies of people who were killed after trying to get aid from the GHF distribution centre in the Netzarim area, Dr. Suleiman Shaheen said last week. That is not [a] humanitarian [method] in distributing aid. While witness reports and human rights groups say many of the shootings appeared unprovoked and occurred without warning, Israel has said its actions were necessary to control crowds that posed a threat to its troops or to prevent breaches of restricted zones. WARNING: The following section includes an image of a dead body. Mourners wheel a body on a medical bed during the funeral on June 19 of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while they sought aid in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The funeral was held outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters) Photo: (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters) GHF working on 'maintaining secure corridors' Since late May, GHF said it has distributed nearly 35,000 boxes of aid across its three distribution sites without incident. This stands in stark contrast to the United Nations, which sees its sites overrun and its trucks looted by bad actors, the group said in the email to CBC News Tuesday. We are working in partnership with international monitors to maintain secure corridors for civilian movement, minimizing any exposure to violence. The group said that its sites were managed by civilian humanitarian teams, which include local Palestinian partners. Our aid workers are civilian contractors trained in humanitarian operations, not combatants, it said in the statement. The GHF aid system was launched after a complete blockade (new window) lasting nearly three months on medical, fuel and food supplies imposed by Israel was lifted in the territory. The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct.7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent air and ground war in Gaza has killed around 56,077 Palestinians, according to the Gaza-run Health Ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than two million and spreading a hunger crisis. WATCH | Aid sites shutter in the second week after opening: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Gaza aid group closes distribution centres over safety concerns Ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza on Friday, local health authorities said, as a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in the enclave said all its distribution sites were closed until further notice. Last week, UNICEF said that the aid distribution system run by GHF was making a desperate situation worse. Outside of the aid distributed by the GHF, Cummings said non-governmental organizations in Gaza are getting very limited aid on trucks through border crossings, most of which are stopped and looted after entering. Despite the limited aid entering, Save the Children has been helping provide clean drinking water for around 20,000 people each day in Gaza, even though there is a largely destroyed water infrastructure (new window) . UNICEF also sounded the alarm last week, saying Gaza is facing a human-caused drought (new window) as its water systems collapse, with just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remaining functional. Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos and the loss of more lives, Tom Fletcher, emergency relief co-ordinator with the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement (new window) earlier this month. Hunger must never be met with bullets. Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Sara Jabakhanji (new window) · CBC News
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
As Ramadan comes to a close, Palestinians say finding and affording food in Gaza a challenge
As Muslims in Gaza prepare to mark Eid this weekend and the end of the holy month of Ramadan, families say they're barely making ends meet, with no food entering the territory for nearly a month. Rania Hegazy, 38, who is currently sheltering in a tent in Gaza City with her husband and three children, was ordered by the Israeli army to evacuate Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza last week. "We're living on canned food. There is no clean water or proper hygiene," Hegazy told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife on Thursday from the tent encampment. "Last Ramadan was bad, but this one is even worse." Nearly one month after Israel imposed a complete blockade on all aid and goods entering into Gaza, humanitarian organizations say their food supplies are dwindling as food prices are soaring. Hegazy said finding food to feed her family becomes more and more challenging each day, especially during Ramadan — a holy month where millions of Muslims around the world fast from dawn to sunset as a form of worship. "It's been more than a year and a half of us being forced to move from one place to another. My children have suffered a lot," she said. Mansoura Marouf breaks her fast with rice and beans along with a salad and pita bread Thursday, with her husband in a tent camp in Gaza City. Like many Palestinians in Gaza, they are relying on canned food and the little produce being shared by their neighbours. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC) Eid — which literally translates to the celebration of breaking fast in Arabic and marks the end of Ramadan — is expected to arrive on Sunday. Hegazy says she has trouble knowing what to tell her children — who are between four and six years old — when they ask for clothes or toys. "Eid? There's no Eid. "My daughter asks me for a new outfit for Eid … something simple, a blouse or dress, but I am unable to get that for her," she says, wiping away tears. Last year, the family was sheltering in northern Gaza where much of the population was ordered to flee to the south due to the heavy Israeli bombardment. Hegazy says they break their fast with whatever they can find — oftentimes that's rice with some kind of canned food. On Thursday it was rice with beans next to a bowl of macaroni that another family in their tent encampment brought over to share with them. "Today, we found a portion of rice, and thank God we did," she said. "During Ramadan last year, we could not find rice to eat — there was mass starvation." Prices of food soar as supplies dwindle Israel resumed bombing and ground operations in Gaza last week, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire amid rows over terms for extending it. Two weeks before, it reimposed a ban on humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. It says the measures are meant to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to seize territory in Gaza if the militant group refuses to return them. Hegazi said before the war, families would typically hold gatherings and make meals during Ramadan — mostly with meats, salads and soups. She said they would prepare fruit platters and qatayef — a Middle Eastern dessert similar to a small pancake — often stuffed with cheese, cream or nuts, then fried or baked and drenched with syrup. But prices of all foods have soared across the Gaza Strip since the blockade began. Her husband, like many in Gaza, is unemployed, she says, with no way of making money during the war. "Their father is sitting here. There's no work. There's nothing, we're just sitting here forced to move from one place to the next." WATCH | Families say finding and affording food in Gaza becoming more challenging: "I'm craving a salad and we can't even buy a cucumber or a tomato. But thanks to God for everything, what matters most is that my family is safe." According to the the World Food Programme (WFP), the price of a 25-kilogram bag of wheat flour sells for up to $71 — a 400 per cent increase compared to prices before March 18. Children drawing food in the sand Last year, Palestinian Muslims in Gaza were in a similar predicament — under ongoing Israeli bombardment and scraping enough food together for Iftar during Ramadan, as supplies in the besieged enclave ran dangerously low. Since Israeli airstrikes resumed last week, at least 855 Palestinians have been killed and 1,869 injured, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Over half of those killed were women and children, the ministry says. Abubaker Abed, a Palestinian freelance journalist, said children in Gaza are so hungry that they are drawing pictures of food in the sand. "My friend told me today that he keeps watching food videos because he wishes to have a plate of meat or fish," Abed wrote in a post on X Tuesday. Marouf, 52, sits with her husband to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the tent encampment they are sheltering in Thursday in Gaza City. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC) Thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza. Fifty-nine hostages are still being held there, with 24 of them believed to be alive. The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 49,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, with thousands more believed to still be under the rubble. Gazans again at risk of severe hunger, malnutrition Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are again at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition as humanitarian food stocks in the enclave dwindle, with no aid getting through the borders, WFP said in a news release Thursday. The United Nations agency said it has approximately 5,700 tonnes of food stock left in Gaza, enough to support its operations for two weeks at most. "With the deteriorating security situation, rapid displacement of people, and growing needs, WFP has decided to distribute as much food as possible, as quickly as possible in Gaza," WFP said. Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza, on March 25. (Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press) The agency said it currently supports bakeries making bread, kitchens cooking hot meals, and the distribution of food parcels directly to families, which are all facing "record low" stock inside Gaza. Mansoura Marouf, sheltering in the same tent encampment in Gaza City with her husband, said they have been relying on neighbours who are sharing food with other families. Early on in the war, the 52-year-old lost her only two sons, who between them left behind seven now-orphaned children. "This is the second Ramadan we break fast in the streets, our backs are broken," Marouf said, who also hails from Beit Lahiya and was ordered to evacuate last week. "My children died and we've been left scrambling for shelter. This Ramadan is just dark. This Eid is dark."
