According to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled area of Gaza, 100 children have recently died due to starvation and malnutrition. The information is difficult to verify since international journalists are not allowed in.
But the situation is "catastrophic" according to Ghada al-Haddad, who is responsible for media and communications for the aid organization Oxfam. She is in the city of Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
We need eggs, milk, meat, chicken. All that has disappeared from our stores since March 2, says al-Haddad, referring to the date when Israel introduced a total blockade of the Palestinian area.
Israel has since opened up for some aid, but the food that is allowed in is far from sufficient, and many trucks are plundered before they reach their destinations.
Dreaming of eggs
The blockade of aid to the Gaza Strip worsens the Palestinians' vulnerability more and more. We want to provide help, we want to support people and our communities, but we cannot due to the restrictions that Israel imposes time and time again, says al-Haddad.
She describes the recent time as particularly difficult.
My nieces and nephews I live with are terrified of the lack of food. Their hopes and dreams are now about getting an egg or something like that. It's terrible to see children being deprived of their basic rights.
Oxfam is trying to help the farmers in Gaza, whose agriculture has been damaged. The organization also provides psychological support to women and children. But Oxfam does not have access to the aid warehouses outside the Gaza Strip's borders.
People have lost everything. They have lost their roofs over their heads, their sources of income, their clothes, everything.
Paying the price
Recently, Israel has allowed a few trucks with supplies to enter, but according to al-Haddad, nothing has improved. The few goods that are available are sold at high prices. In addition, the population is struggling with major problems as water and sanitary facilities have been damaged. And Gaza's inhabitants live with a constant fear of Israel's bombardment.
To meet all the needs that this war has created, extensive humanitarian work is required, which requires a complete and permanent ceasefire, says Ghada al-Haddad.
She believes that all countries must now put pressure on Israel to stop the war in Gaza.
We pay the price – we are being killed and annihilated. It shouldn't be that hard.
Kristoffer Viita/TT
Background: The war between Israel and Hamas
TT
The war in Gaza broke out after the terrorist-stamped Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Over 1,100 people were killed and around 250 were taken as hostages.
About 140 of the hostages have been released alive through negotiations and eight have been rescued by Israel's military, according to the news agency AP's compilation.
Israel's bombings have killed over 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled area's health department, whose figures are often cited by UN agencies and international organizations.
In the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, a trial has been ongoing since December 2023, in which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued international arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and now deceased leaders within Hamas. The charges concern war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source: ICJ, AP, UN
