Gazans 'face starvation' as Israel maintains siege of north

Residents say they are surviving on a quarter of a meal each day with aid deliveries blocked

Palestinian children collect food aid at the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Wednesday. AFP

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Families are facing starvation in northern Gaza, with aid flows to the enclave sharply curtailed by Israeli military operations, local authorities and residents have told The National.

Israel maintains full control of Gaza's borders as it continues to pursue militant group Hamas in a war that health authorities in the territory say has killed about 43,400 people since October last year.

Aid workers and UN officials say conditions are dire, with almost the entire population displaced and thousands of Gazans going hungry. Israel's government insists that no limit has been imposed on aid shipments, and said 47 lorryloads of supplies entered the north on Sunday.

“If the military operations don’t end soon, we’ll face starvation,” said Mohammed Azmi, 27, who has been staying in a rented house with 10 members of his family since fleeing his home in the northern city of Jabalia.

Mr Azmi told The National that he last received an aid package in September, and that it had mostly contained canned food. “We try to make bread with the flour we have stored, but if that runs out, we’ll literally have nothing to eat,” he added.

“Vegetables used to come from farms in Beit Lahia in the north, but with the recent military operations, nothing arrives.”

Israel began a siege on northern Gaza a month ago, with the stated aim of eradicating the operational infrastructure of Hamas. Residents have been ordered to leave the area and head south, but many have refused for fear of being prevented from returning.

On October 13, Washington gave Israel 30 days to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and threatened to slow weapons shipments.

Gaza government spokesman Ismael Thawabta said the lack of food has become a “severe issue” throughout the enclave, and has spread from the north to central and southern areas.

A few lorryloads of aid have entered the territory, he added, but the supplies were far from sufficient to meet people's needs.

Before the war, about 600 lorries a day delivered aid to Gaza. Now, Mr Thawabta said, that number has dropped to about 10, and they mostly carry goods such as clothes and fabric rather than essential supplies. The population needs about 1,000 lorryloads of aid a day, he added.

As a result of the shortages, residents have been forced to survive on about a quarter of a meal each day, Mr Thawabta said. “There is also a shortage of medicine and water. The situation is increasingly difficult and worsening each day.

“Tonnes of aid await entry into Gaza, but the Israeli occupation has closed borders, including the Rafah and Karam Abu Salem crossings.”

Hospitals have been hit hard by the shortages and violence. On Thursday last week, Israel struck Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, injuring several staff members and damaging recently delivered life-saving supplies.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the medical centre as a base of operations. The militant group and health officials have denied the allegations.

“The Israeli occupation seems intent on collapsing the health sector in northern Gaza,” said Mr Thawabta. “Most hospitals there are no longer operational, with only one surgical doctor available. There is a critical shortage of medical staff, supplies and equipment in the area.

“Despite appeals for additional medical crews, no assistance has arrived, and many injured citizens have died from inadequate treatment.”

Hadeel Hassan, 30, who is staying in Gaza city, said she last received aid in September. She fled her home in Al Saftawi three weeks ago, and was supposed to receive an aid package last month. However, she said, Israel's siege of Jabalia meant that she got nothing.

“My little girl needs eggs and vegetables, but I can’t afford them. This affects her health,” Ms Hassan told The National. “My one-year-old also needs nappies.”

Previously, she said, she had received these essentials from aid deliveries. Now, she has to buy everything – even water for washing. “Since I left my area in Al Saftawi, I haven’t received anything.”

“The situation is catastrophic, especially regarding food aid, as there is still severe shortage due to restrictions imposed on the entry of aid to Gaza,” Inas Hamdan, Gaza's acting public information officer, told The National on Wednesday. Ms Hamdan warned that the enforcement of Israel's ban on UNRWA operations would have “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israel on Monday announced that it would sever ties with the UN agency after recent laws passed in the Knesset that prohibited its operations in areas under Israeli control and bar Israeli officials from co-ordinating with UNRWA staff. The agency's operations in Israel will also be banned under the law, starting from January.

“The lives of two million people in Gaza and more than 200,000 refugees in the West Bank would be at risk. UNRWA provides health and education services and distributes food and essential aid to displaced people in Gaza,” Ms Hamdan said.