Palestinians lining up for a meal in Rafah, in southern Gaza | Photo: Fatima Shbair/Associated Press (representational).
Deir al-Balah/Gaza: In war-torn Gaza, many locals are eating just once a day as hunger intensifies due to issues toppling the peaceful supply of aid. When northern Gaza has been largely isolated and heavily destroyed since the war broke in October 2023, Central Gaza has relatively better access to supplies, but even here, many are one meal a day, the Associated Press reported.
In Deir al-Balah, hundreds of thousands are sheltering in squalid tent camps. The local bakeries shut down for five days this week. The price of a bag of bread climbed above $13 by Wednesday as bread and flour vanished from shelves before more supplies arrived. Crowds of hundreds wait hours to get food from charities, which are also struggling.
The United Nations humanitarian office warned of a “stark increase” in the number of households experiencing severe hunger in central and southern Gaza. It appeared to be linked to the robbery at gunpoint of nearly 100 aid trucks last weekend in southern Gaza, close to Israeli military positions. Israel blamed Hamas but appears to have taken no action to stop the looting, while Hamas said it was the work of local bandits.
Aid groups say the looting is one of many obstacles to getting food and other vital aid to the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians. They also have to contend with Israeli movement restrictions, ongoing fighting, and heavy damage wreaked by the Israeli bombardment of roads and critical infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Israel claimed that it places no limits on the amount of aid entering Gaza and has announced a number of measures it says are aimed at increasing the flow in recent weeks, including the opening of a new crossing. However, it blamed UN agencies for not retrieving hundreds of truckloads of supplies languishing on the Gaza side of the border.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, accusing them of using “starvation as a method of warfare” — charges Israel adamantly denies, AP reported.