People are going desperately hungry in Gaza as, with only a very limited amount of fuel and aid entering the territory, food systems collapse.
“A single tuna can is given to each family”: Food systems in Gaza collapsing without fuel, as cold weather and heavy rains bring further misery
People are going desperately hungry in Gaza as, with only a very limited amount of fuel and aid entering the territory, food systems collapse. Even before October 7, close to 60% of households in Gaza were considered to be food insecure. Now, this is the case for the entire population, according to the UN, which is warning of the “immediate possibility” of starvation for people in Gaza.
The majority of bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to a lack of fuel or because of damage from airstrikes, while in the north, no bakeries have operated since November 7. On Wednesday, Gaza’s last functioning wheat mill in Deir Al-Balah was forced to shut down following shelling. Fish, usually a cheap staple of people’s diet in the coastal territory, is nowhere to be found because it is too dangerous for fishermen to get to the sea. Shops are increasingly closing their doors, and even those that remain open report running out of essentials such as wheat flour, dairy products, water and eggs. Even when people do have a small amount of food, without fuel, they have no way to cook it and, as a result, people are resorting to eating raw onions and eggplant, or making fires using unsafe and unhealthy methods. Only half of the aid trucks entering Gaza since October 21 have carried food, and this amount is only enough to meet 7% of people’s minimum daily needs, according to the World Food Programme.
Yara* is a mother and humanitarian worker who was displaced from northern Gaza and is now sheltering in the south. She said: “We are missing all the basic needs that any human being should have today. Today we are just looking to save our lives. We look for a sip of water, even if it is salty. There is no solar energy or fuel to help us find [fresh] water or to activate desalination plants. We [can] no longer find bread and we stay in bread lines for six, seven, or eight hours so we can get bread to feed the children.”
Buthaina is the director of ActionAid’s partner WEFAQ, Association for Women and Childcare. She said: “UNRWA developed a distribution plan for flour two weeks ago, to distribute flour to bakeries so they could bake bread. Can you imagine that throughout the whole day one child would get a very small [piece] of bread while an adult would get two, for the whole day. Nonetheless, people have been patient and accepted the cruel circumstances. But the fuel and diesel shortage stopped all bakeries [from baking bread]. We no longer have any functioning bakeries. The only food available is tinned tuna. A single tuna can is given to each family or one can of tinned beef per family per day.”
Up until last week, no fuel had entered Gaza since the beginning of the crisis. Today it was announced that, during the four-day pause in fighting agreed as part of the hostage deal, fuel will enter Gaza alongside other aid for humanitarian purposes. It is crucial that sufficient fuel is permitted into the territory so that vital services can function: UNRWA has said it needs at least 160,000 litres per day just to keep basic humanitarian operations running. It is not clear how fuel or aid deliveries will reach the 807,000 people in dire need in the north of Gaza, which has been largely cut off. All water and sanitation facilities in the north are believed to be shut down, and bottled water has not been distributed since October 28 – leading to fears of widespread dehydration and disease.
The severe lack of food already has hugely worrying health implications for the population of Gaza, particularly lactating women and children. However, the situation is becoming much worse due to the arrival of cold weather and heavy rain, which will further increase susceptibility to illness, as most people lack warm or waterproof clothes and shelter.
Rana*, who was displaced from her home and is currently staying in a tent with her children in southern Gaza, said: "Yesterday, my children were afraid of death. Because of the storm, the tent was about to fly away. We were freezing to death. The children were shivering so much. I can’t find a blanket to cover them. We left [our homes] without clothes. Sweaters and winter clothes are not available. We don't know what to do. My husband is not here, and I am alone. I don’t know how to manage it. I can’t cover them or put clothes on them to keep them warm. Oh God, no more rain. Our situation is very miserable.”
Lama* is a pregnant woman who has been displaced from her home in northern Gaza and is currently sheltering in a tent in southern Gaza with her husband and six children. She said: "There are no clothes for my children. When we left our homes, we went out with our summer clothes. This was the beginning of the war and it was [still] summer. We only left with the clothes we were wearing and did not take anything with us. There are people who [have] died from the cold, and there are people who [have] died from hunger. And there is nothing [here]. There are no blankets, clothes, or even food. We cannot [find any] bread. Even water, we suffer a lot [to] get it, and we are freezing to death."
Riham Jafari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine, said: “People in Gaza who have managed to survive more than six weeks of relentless airstrikes now face the very real possibility of starving to death as food supplies dwindle to zero. The arrival of winter has only increased their misery, particularly for those living in make-shift shelters in the streets. What protection will the flimsy tents and the summer clothes they fled their homes in provide against heavy thunderstorms and flooding? How can they get warm and dry when there is nowhere for them to go?
"The news that an agreement on a pause in fighting for four days has been reached is to be welcomed. However, there is no way that four days will be enough time for enough humanitarian to enter Gaza and reach those who desperately need it to survive. Nor will it be anything more than a short respite if, after a few days, bombs start falling once again. We need a permanent ceasefire, now, to stop more lives being lost and to get sufficient food, water, fuel and medical supplies to all those who require it.”
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