After Israeli bombs and bullets, hunger preying on displaced Palestinians

By Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi Duran

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - For over two months, the Israeli army has been intensely bombarding the Gaza Strip, attacking civilians and their houses despite international calls for a cease-fire.

The ongoing bombardment and blockade hinder access to food and water and people in Gaza are struggling even to find enough food and water to keep their children alive.

With limited aid reaching the region, Palestinians who have survived Israeli bombings now face the prospect of hunger and thirst.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed and over 50,594 others injured in the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in Gaza said on Thursday.

- Almost impossible to find water, food in Gaza

Hassune Iskafi, who lives in Gaza’s Shujaiyya neighborhood with his family, told Anadolu that he initially refused to leave his home at the beginning of the attacks. However, when nearby buildings were targeted, they had to leave their homes with their neighbors and found shelter in a school.

“We left the house under heavy air raids and walked until we found a school to take shelter in. We reached a school where the displaced people were staying, and before entering the door, we sat for a long time to catch our breath. After staying there for a while, we sought refuge in the house of an acquaintance in the Sabra neighborhood,” Iskafi recounted the ordeal.

Iskafi mentioned that Israel is bombing markets, shops, water wells, bakeries, and production sites to force people to evacuate, adding that he and his brother spend most of their day searching for food and water.

Stressing that finding water and food in Gaza has become almost impossible, Iskafi said: "I searched for food in the debris of bombed houses. Despite risking my life to find something to eat and feed my little daughter and family, I could only find three pieces of biscuits."

Describing the challenges of reaching the only well that the municipality operates for a few hours, Iskafi said they walk long distances to obtain only 20 liters of water.

He highlighted that many people in Gaza face similar difficulties.

- ‘We have been under siege inside school for several days’

Raid Neccar, living in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern part of Gaza said: "Finding flour has become impossible, and even if we find flour, there is no wood or gas to bake bread."

Due to Israel's intense attacks, Neccar, along with his family of seven, had to take refuge in the Avni al-Harsani School.

“The Israeli army besieged the school. We have been under siege inside the school for several days. Due to heavy firing, no one can go outside, and no one can enter from outside; the situation is very bad,” he added.

- ‘We fear people will die of hunger and thirst’

Emphasizing the serious shortage of water and food in and around the school due to Israel's strict blockade and intense attacks in Gaza City's north, Neccar said that no permission was granted for the entry of aid, and the limited aid that arrived was insufficient.

Frustrated over his inability to find food for his family, Neccar said: "We fear people will die of hunger and thirst."

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in the wake of an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul