Displaced people in Gaza seeking refuge in a school courtyard in Rafah resort to desperate measures, such as diluting powdered milk with large amounts of water or feeding their children just one meal a day due to insufficient food supplies. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on Thursday that Rafah, located in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border, is the only area in the Palestinian territory to have received limited aid over the past four days. However, food is still not sufficient for everyone. Parents state that their children are getting sick and losing weight.
Children Without Milk
Zakaria Rayhan sits on a mat in front of his family's tent in a temporary displaced persons camp, holding his small child and a bottle containing a small amount of liquid. Rayhan said, "This is basically water with a spoonful of powdered milk, maybe less than a spoon, anything that smells like milk just to trick him into thinking it's milk so he can drink it... but it’s not healthy, and it doesn't provide any nutrition." He added that all families in the camp struggle daily to find food and a way to cook it. He mentioned that he has eaten raw legumes from a can that came in a shipment of aid due to the lack of fuel to start a fire. He explained, "Yes, aid comes, but it is not enough at all. It's not sufficient for all families. You can get a can of legumes or a can of meat for ten people. Even if one person eats it, it won’t make them full."
Food scarcity has been an issue throughout the two-month-long war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement (Hamas), but it has worsened since the end of a week-long truce on December 1, due to a decline in the number of aid trucks entering from Egypt and the disruption of violent fighting affecting distribution, including in southern Gaza.
*One Meal a Day*
In another tent in the camp set up in a school in Rafah, three children were eating rice from a single pot. Their mother, Yousra Al-Dib, stated that they would not be having anything else for the rest of the day. She added, appearing angry and exhausted, "The children sleep hungry and wake up hungry. I prepared for them a meal, which is the only meal they will have today, and they won’t eat for the rest of the day." She continued, "At home, I would feed them a nutritious meal, and they never got sick. But here, they are always ill, and every day they suffer from stomach aches."
Tomatoes and Peppers
In another part of the camp, Naji Shlah chopped some tomatoes and green peppers and was preparing to cook them in a small frying pan. He also mentioned that this would be his children's only meal of the day. Naji said, "If I can find bread for my children, it would be like getting a pound of gold," mentioning that they are suffering from dehydration due to the lack of food and water, and one of his children has lost a lot of weight. He continued, "If I get the bread, I can only give my child half a loaf, because if he eats the whole loaf, he won't eat the next day."
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people, including infants and children, and the capture of 240 hostages of all ages, according to Israeli figures. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, described the living conditions in the bombardment-hit region as "terrifying."
