DayofPal– A year has passed since the onset of the Israeli campaign of extermination against Gaza, marked by consecutive months of siege and starvation.
Once again, the Israeli occupation brandishes the weapon of “silent extermination” by implementing a systematic policy of deprivation, blocking humanitarian aid, and destroying infrastructure and agricultural lands. This deliberate approach is aimed at erasing essential food items, particularly in northern Gaza.
Jabalia has been now facing threats of Israeli implementation of the General’s plan, which has green lighted the deliberate starvation of civilian people. A sense of Déjà vu has occupied the minds and hearts of people in northern Gaza who experienced famine at the beginning of the war.
56-year-old Nihad Abu Tbeikh is one of those who endured starvation in Jabalia. She recounts that the dire circumstances forced her to consume food meant for animals and birds, unfit for human consumption, in a desperate attempt to feed her family of 17, following a cease of flour supplies and the soaring prices of what little was available in the markets.
People Resorted to Animal Feed!
In January 2024, flour vanished from the Gazan markets, forcing Nihad and her family to resort to barley, followed by soybean meal then animal feed and pigeon food.
They even attempted to consume barley despite its adverse effects on their health due to its difficult digestibility and lack of cleanliness.
Nihad expressed her concern to Ultra Palestine about her infant granddaughter, who suffers from intestinal lethargy and stunted growth, requiring hospitalization due to her weight, which has remained below 7 kilograms.
This plight is exacerbated by the dwindling food options as the intensity of the siege has escalated in recent days.
Nihad noted that in that days, they were limited to a single meal each day, primarily consisting of a loaf of barley, accompanied by some rice, which has now completely disappeared from the market, while Israel’s war has obliterated income sources in the enclave.
She added, “When flour began to arrive in the north, it felt like a lifeline—either you came back with a bag of flour or in a coffin. That’s why I forbade my children from taking risks.”
She also pointed out that they have resorted to eating sliq, sour grass, mallow, and radish leaves, preparing salads from wild greens like kharfish and qarees, fully aware of their harmful effects. Yet, she reflected, “We had to endure and survive.”
Nihad also lamented the soaring prices of vegetables that have been absent from northern Gaza throughout the period of famine, forcing her to rely on humanitarian aid, particularly canned food, as a primary source of sustenance. This reliance has contributed to a rise in malnutrition among her family members.
She highlighted the plight of her 23-year-old daughter, Ola, who suffers from a stomach infection exacerbated by the effects of canned food on her health.
Nihad emphasized that the provision of canned food did not resolve the issue of hunger; rather, it perpetuated it, as Israel systematically tightened the grip on the people of northern Gaza in light of their refusal to relocate southward.
Planting Trials Amid Damaged Agricultural Soil
Nihad recounted that she had to resort to eating salt-dipped bread to maintain her health, grappling with issues related to her cartilage, heart, and gallbladder, all while lacking access to necessary treatments.
Her daughter, Ola, turned to alternative agriculture to save herself, only to face repeated failures due to the damaged soil, which had absorbed the toxic gas and phosphorus bombs dropped by the Israeli army, compounded by a scarcity of irrigation water and fertilizers.
Fatima Abu Asi, 25, revealed that she turned to alternative farming by implanting seeds.
“I planted okra, molokhia, and arugula in the backyard of our home in the Al-Rimal neighborhood to the west of Gaza.
She added that she was making regular trips from her displacement location in eastern Gaza to water her plants in the west of Gaza, despite the scarcity of water. She even purchased fertilizers from her personal funds, and after nearly two months of diligent care, she harvested her first crop.
However, the attempts to overcome the crisis through farming were short-lived due to the damages inflicted on the soil by toxic materials emitted from the rockets, in addition to the lack of seeds for planting and high prices of what remains in the market.
Dangerous Effects of Eating Grass
Meanwhile, Samia Atta Allah, 68, endured another ordeal with her son, Marshoud, 43, who succumbed to starvation after developing a stomach infection resulted from consuming wild grasses, especially that he suffered from epilepsy and lacked the medication essential for his condition.
Samia recounted: “During the famine, my son Marshoud contracted gastroenteritis after eating sour grass and cornmeal, leading to severe complications such as excessive secretions, drooling, and intense diarrhea.”
“He was hospitalized for several days under IV fluids, only to discover that he had a stomach infection. The doctors prohibited him from consuming any alternatives to flour, including barley, corn, and wild grasses,” she said.
Samia added, “My heart broke for my son, and my despair deepened with the presence of money and the absence of alternatives. When he fell ill, I vowed never to cook sour grass again.”
She described how the signs of malnutrition altered his face, leaving him emaciated and perpetually exhausted, needing to sit down after just a few steps.
Samia noted that her son had to sit in the sun in an attempt to absorb vitamins and dispel his fatigue, saying, “He tried to live and grow stronger, but the lack of food forced him to survive on water alone for about a month and a half, until he passed away.”
She recounted the harrowing days they endured, particularly when famine coincided with a siege imposed by the Israeli army on their home in the Yarmouk Square area, west of Gaza. During that time, they spent long time without food, water, washing, or bathing.
No Money, No Food
In Gaza’s neighborhood of Al-Daraj, Rawda Al-Sahloubi, a 35-year-old mother of five, recounted the harrowing days she endured in the peak of famine. Her children were crying out from hunger, as there was nothing to alleviate their suffering.
In desperation, she resorted to grinding barley and baking it, then frying a mixture of cornmeal and animal feed into falafel-like patties.
Tragically, she lost her son at the Nabulsi intersection where he was attempting to fetch a bag of flour from aid trucks.
She added, “Everything is exorbitantly priced, even rice and alternatives. I spent most of Ramadan breaking my fast with only water before continuing my fast. Whenever I managed to receive help from generous bodies, I prioritized my children over myself, despite being a nursing mother in dire need of every nutrient, which ultimately led to my breakdown.”
Rawda said they relied heavily on what people provided. When canned goods finally became available, they turned to them without realizing their negative effects on their children’s health.
Later on, she stated that the severity of the siege forced her to subsist solely on bread, without any other food items. She explained that while flour became available in abundance, no other products accompanied it, and vegetables remained absent due to their high prices and the lack of access to markets, compounded by her inability to afford whatever was available.
Famine is Never Far Away
Rawda did not hide her fears of a resurgence of famine in northern Gaza, as the Israeli occupation imposed a new siege alongside its incursion into Jabalia, signaling an intention to execute a plan to depopulate and starve the northern region.
In his latest statement, Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, indicated that over 400,000 people remain trapped in northern Gaza, where the healthcare system has completely collapsed.
The World Food Programme has confirmed that the situation for Gaza’s residents has reached a “catastrophic” level, the highest classification of famine severity, with 95 percent of the population experiencing varying degrees of hunger as the war continues.
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