Witnessing the Raw Impact of Severe Food Shortages on Individuals in Gaza
"Crying tears as I type this out," says Islam Maher Abu Sakran, his message adorned with two emoji representations of a broken heart.
"Life for animals is more favorable than ours."
15 individuals, consisting of 3 women and 6 children, make their home in a rudimentary tent in southern Gaza. Creeping insects inhabit the sandy grounds. Privacy is nonexistent. Winter evenings are chillingly frigid, prohibiting the lighting of fires within the inflammable nylon dwelling. Rain showers bring unwelcome flooding, soaking their meager possessions and leaving them without a dry place to rest.
Since October 7, 2023— resulting from a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel that led to the deaths of approximately 1,200 individuals and the capture of around 250 hostages— Gaza has been subjected to relentless Israeli bombardment. Entire sections of the city have been reduced to rubble, and the fatality toll has surpassed 46,000 people, mostly women and children.
Nearly 90% of Gaza's population of over 2.3 million people, including Islam's family, has been displaced multiple times. Currently located in the Deir al-Balah governorate, the 20-year-old lost his brother, a father of two young children, on the second day of the conflict. Two days later, his home was obliterated.
Despite Deir al-Balah being designated as a safe camp, safety is nonexistent in Gaza.
As I type this, Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of 21 individuals in Deir al-Balah. Within the past 24-hours— as per Gaza's Health Ministry— more than 59 people have been eliminated due to strikes in the area and over 270 have been injured. For those who survive, war continues indiscreetly and mercilessly through food scarcity.
Islam last reached out to me over a day ago. The battery life of his phone is a daily gamble, as he must scramble to collect enough funds to charge it via a solar charging service provider. Each time the sole tick mark of an undelivered message appears on WhatsApp, my heart skips a beat.
Long-awaited messages from Islam are not merely technical failures; they symbolize a community that has lost its capability to function— to live. A dearth of food and clean water has become relentless tormentors, and the numbers tell a story that words can scarcely convey.
According to projections by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), by April 2025, nearly 50,000 people in the Deir al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates where Islam resides, will struggle with "Global Acute Malnutrition." Under a "reasonable worst-case scenario," a risk of Famine exists for the entire Gaza Strip throughout the same period.
Recent water quality monitoring has revealed alarmingly high levels of microbiological contamination, and a UN mission to displacement sites in Gaza City reports dire conditions in water, sanitation, and hygiene. With freshwater costing more than $3 per liter, Islam's family has resorted to the risk of consuming contaminated water. Daily life has become a continuous struggle for survival and a manifestation of food and water insecurity in its most cruel incarnation.
Islam wakes up before daybreak. He and his brothers, aged 26 and 30, embark on their daily quest to gather buckets and jerry cans to fetch water— if they manage to find any. Water is only accessible for 30 minutes a day.
After procuring whatever meager amount they can, the brothers journey to the tekia, a community kitchen that distributes free food to displaced families.
On "favorable days," their family consumes a full meal. On unfavorable days, the food supply runs out before they get their turn.
"Distribution begins at noon, but you have to be there by 9 or 10 in the morning to secure a turn, and we return later than 4," Islam explains. "Sometimes we return with food, sometimes we do not. If we do not, we go to sleep hungry. We awaken and spend each day in this manner— simply for water and food."
When food does reach their tent, it is parceled out sparingly among the seven family members. Most of the time, the meal consists of lentils, rice, or beans.
Meat, once a staple, has been absent from their diet for over six months.
"There isn't a single piece of meat in all of Gaza," Islam reveals. "We've nearly forgotten its taste."
As Islam's mother waits for her sons to bring food, she prepares bread over a fire. With a kilogram of flour costing 800 shekels or $220, bread is no small expense for a family that has lost everything. Yet, Islam recognizes that matters could always be worse.
In fact, he vividly remembers the worst days.
In July 2024, as humanitarian assistance in Gaza plummeted to its lowest levels since the conflict began, despair gripped the region. In the area where Islam resides, aid was reaching only 25-45% of the population, and food shipments into southern Gaza covered only 15-20% of the population's caloric needs. At the time, the crisis was classified as "Emergency" (IPC Phase 4)— just one level below an outright famine.
For Islam, this meant 11 days without food.
"We gave whatever food we had to the children," he recalls. "We, the young men, didn't eat at all. Even the small amount for the children wasn't enough. For my family, the situation became dire. We couldn't walk or move. I had to consume grass from the ground just to quell my hunger. We thought we were nearing the end— that we would perish of hunger."
In an unbearable state of destitution, Islam and his kin resorted to drinking water, consuming it frantically in an attempt to appease their rumbling stomachs. The days melded into one another, a grueling sequence of famine and despair.
Relief finally arrived in the form of a single nutritious meal— a simple dish of lentils. For Islam, it was a divine intervention. “It was the most savory dish I've ever tasted in my entire life,” he recollects. Yet, this brief moment of joy couldn't wipe away the wounds of those 11 days— wounds that hunger continues to etch into his life.
Islam's father now grapples with untreated hypertension and diabetes. His grandmother suffers from persistent asthma and a fractured pelvis. Without the means to afford medical treatment, their conditions deteriorate.
Conditions that increase the risk of various health complications, such as chest infections, digestive issues, and heart failure, are exacerbated under the crushing duress of starvation and cold. At least six children and one adult have lost their lives to hypothermia in Gaza over the past week.
During the festive season of Christmas, as much of the world commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, Islam's cousin was tragically killed in an airstrike just 100 kilometers away. His body remains entombed under the debris, inaccessible due to the lack of suitable tools to clear the rubble. Another cousin, who was lost in the conflict earlier, was never found, leaving his mourning mother bereft of even the solace of a burial.
“I ponder if I too were to meet the same fate and be buried here, abandoning all I ever dreamed of and all I never accomplished,” Islam laments, filled with grief.
For now, Islam survives on the resilience of his spirit. He shares images of his family with me, inquiring about life in the Cayman Islands, where I reside. I inform him about the exorbitant cost of sugar. He chuckles. “One kilogram of sugar in Gaza costs $19.”
As the winter deepens, Gaza plunges further into despair. Humanitarian aid dwindles, prices spike, and hunger tightens its grip. According to humanitarian reports, by April 2025, 91% of the population in Gaza is predicted to face exacerbated levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or above. Over 876,000 people will be grappling with emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4), and 345,000 will be grappling with catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5).
According to the World Food Programme, as of late December 2024, food consumption in Gaza remains alarmingly meager, with most families subsisting on bread and pulses for three months, bereft of fresh produce, dairy, or meat. Food accessibility is particularly dire in southern and central areas, where 90% of households report insufficient funds to purchase scarce market supplies. The energy crisis has only exacerbated the hardship, with gas prices in Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis skyrocketing by 700%, rendering it unaffordable for basic food preparation.
“I am at a loss as to how the world remains indifferent to this,” Islam laments. “We are human beings. I am unsure if the world has surrendered its humanity.”
There are days I do not hear from Islam. On those days, I wait impatiently, praying for his safety. On those days, I find myself hoping that it is intermittent internet service or the rains keeping him quiet.
“I wonder if I manage to escape from here, if I can leave this behind,” he asks. “I feel as though a part of me has succumbed to this. I'm unsure if I'll ever be able to recover from this.”
Even amidst unimaginable suffering, Islam is brimming with the power of hope, and recalls happier times. Before the conflict, his family enjoyed a comfortable life, and his future was filled with promise. He was a university student, studying software engineering, and was two years into his studies. His favorite pastime was football.
“My ambition is to flee Gaza, complete my education, and become a web developer,” he shares. The Egyptian border crossing— the only escape route— remains sealed, and the hurdles to a better future appear insurmountable. Yet, Islam's indomitable spirit remains unshaken.
For now, it is the only thing that keeps him going— and for me, it serves as a poignant reminder that even in the darkest recesses of despair, there is great strength in humanity.
“Fear is omnipresent here,” Islam warns me. “The fear of death at any moment... But when we awake in the morning, it's a miracle that we're still alive.”
- The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has resulted in severe food and water insecurity, with projections showing that nearly 50,000 people will struggle with malnutrition by April 2025.
- The Israeli airstrikes have destroyed infrastructure and essential services, leading to a sharp increase in the cost of basic necessities such as water and food.
- The situation in Gaza is dire, with people resorting to drinking contaminated water due to the high cost of clean water, and the risk of genocide through starvation looming over the region.
- Food as a weapon has been used in the Israel-Hamas war, leaving the people of Gaza struggling to find enough food and causing famine-like conditions for thousands of individuals.
- The international community's response to the food and water insecurity in Gaza has been criticized as indifferent, with many questioning why the world seems to have surrendered its humanity in the face of such suffering.
