Gaza's youngest breadwinner: 12-year-old takes charge amid famine

By Ramzi Mahmud

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Abdullah Salah, 12, a Palestinian displaced child in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, grapples with the hardships of life: hunger, thirst, and hygiene deficiency.

At an age when Abdullah Salah should be enjoying his childhood, he finds himself compelled to struggle to secure food for his family.

This dire situation is amid a famine striking the residents of Gaza City due to the depletion of basic food supplies after four months of intensified Israeli war and blockade.

Recently, residents of Gaza and the northern areas used animal fodder as a substitute for flour.

The UN had warned that 2.3 million people in the enclave are at risk of famine.

In mid-November, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said all Gaza residents suffer from "food insecurity" due to the Israeli blockade since Oct. 7.

- Feeding his family

Salah sits with a group of his friends in front of the shelter center, cooking lentil soup inside a medium-sized pot usually insufficient for 10 people, but he will distribute it among 20 members of his family.

For over two hours, Salah has been cooking this soup, which has not yet been fully cooked because he is using tree leaves to ignite the fire.

He wakes up early morning to clean the tent, then immediately sets out to search for food to cook, he told Anadolu.

This scanty soup barely satisfies the hunger of his 20-member family, given the absence of any other type of food, he added.

- Lack of life essentials

"There is no firewood, logs, gas, food, flour, there is nothing here," he lamented.

Regarding drinking water, the child said it is usually unavailable, forcing him and his family to travel long distances to obtain water.

"We carry bottles filled with water for long distances until we reach our tent at the shelter center," he added.

Moreover, the lack of hygiene essentials has exacerbated the hardships faced by Salah and his family.

"Sewage water leaks into the shelter centers, onto the streets, worsening conditions," he remarked.

"Furthermore, during heavy rainfalls, the tent is susceptible to flooding and rainwater mixes with sewage water leading to health issues, particularly for children," he explained.

Since the onset of the devastating war on the Strip on Oct. 7, Israel has cut off supplies of water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel to the residents of Gaza.

The UN has repeatedly warned of the spread of diseases and epidemics due to the water crisis and the lack of hygiene supplies following Israel's cutting of water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel.

- Cease-fire important

The Palestinian child believes that the only refuge from famine and deteriorating health conditions is to reach a cease-fire and halt the hostilities.

Describing his life in this displacement center as "exhausting," he appealed for a cease-fire that would enable him and his family to return honorably to their home and provide them with aid, food, drink, water, and life essentials.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 27,365 Palestinians and injuring 66,630 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara