By MAHMOUD ISSA Reuters
Share this story

GAZA — Father of four Mahmoud al-Haw and other Palestinians crowd around a soup kitchen in war-ravaged Gaza, surging forward and frantically waving pots.

Small children, squashed at the front, are in tears. One of them holds up a plastic basin hoping for some ladles of soup. Haw pushes forward in the scrum until he receives his share.

ADVERTISING

Haw does this every day because he fears his children are starving. He sets out through the ruins of Jabalia in northern Gaza in search of food, waiting in panicked crowds for up to six hours to get barely enough to feed his family.

Some days he gets lucky and can find lentil soup. Other days he returns empty-handed.

“I have a sick daughter. I can’t provide her with anything. There is no bread, there is nothing,” said Haw, 39.

“I’m here since eight in the morning, just to get one plate for six people while it is not enough for one person.”

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March, prompting international experts to warn of looming famine in the besieged enclave that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

Some trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday, after Israel agreed to allow limited humanitarian deliveries to resume following mounting international pressure. But by Tuesday night, the United Nations said no aid had been distributed.

And as well as aid shortages, fighting in Gaza has intensified. Last week the Israeli military announced the start of a major new operation against militant group Hamas. Medics in the territory say Israeli strikes have killed more than 500 people in the past eight days.

Israel’s stepped-up campaign has strained its relations with much of the world. European countries including France, Germany and Britain have said the situation in Gaza is intolerable, and even the support of its closest ally, the United States, now appears to be wavering.

Israel denies that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis. It has said its blockade is aimed in part at preventing Hamas militants from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied doing so and accuses Israel of using starvation as a military tactic.

Gazans like Haw, living in the epicentre of the war that is now in its 20th month, have no voice in the debate.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.