Gaza Confronts Starvation

It is mistaken to think that the starvation of our people in Gaza began only sixty days ago, following the resumption of the senseless war on the Gaza Strip by the Zionist Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu—an internationally wanted war criminal. It is equally mistaken to believe that this suffering began with the start of “Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7, 2023.

Gaza’s current story with starvation, in truth, began back in 2007, when the occupation imposed a suffocating blockade on the Strip following the internal political division and military takeover that split the West Bank and Gaza. From that moment on, Gaza has been subjected to a relentless and severe siege—one that has never been lifted, continuing uninterrupted until the start of the current war.

The starvation of Gaza began in 2007, when the occupation imposed a suffocating blockade on the Strip.

During the years of blockade preceding the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” the occupation deliberately calculated the daily caloric intake required for a human being, then multiplied it by the total population of the Gaza Strip, allowing only the basic goods necessary to meet this calculated amount to enter Gaza each day. This policy ensured that people remained barely alive—no more, no less. As a result, there were often severe shortages of essential supplies and extremely high prices for certain food items that were scarce in the markets due to the blockade.

The occupation also closed off the sea to Gaza, preventing fishermen from venturing into deeper waters to earn their livelihood. They were restricted to fishing in shallow areas, where large fish are scarce, and the quantities are insufficient.

Despite this, the people of Gaza learned to adapt to the blockade over the course of 16 years. One can imagine an entire generation of young Palestinians born and raised in Gaza under this suffocating siege—knowing no other life but one of constant economic restriction, even when it came to electricity. Long, scheduled power outages were considered normal in Gaza.

The same was true when it came to types of food, cooking habits, quantities of available food, and methods of production. The people of Gaza learned how to cultivate their land and reclaim every inch of it using all available means. They developed vegetable and fruit farms that grew and expanded to cover more than 40% of the sector’s needs. Through this, the value of resistance through the land and steadfastness upon it became deeply rooted in their lives over the years.

Before the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” the occupation restricted the entry of food based on individuals’ caloric needs!

For this reason, agricultural lands were one of the most important targets of this brutal war. The occupation has destroyed more than 90% of the lands cultivated by the people of Gaza through direct bombardment! It has also devastated greenhouses and other structures that Gazans worked for years to bring through the besieged crossings, and it has burned thousands of fruit trees until they became barren and no longer produce fruit.

With the occupation’s openly shameless declaration of its intent to starve Gaza by cutting off water, food, fuel, and electricity indefinitely, the signs of catastrophe began to emerge during the war. Fuel became scarce and then nearly disappeared, followed by an even more dangerous development—a severe shortage of flour needed to bake bread. This reached the point where our people in Gaza were forced into horrifying scenes of making bread from animal feed.

Today, after the first ceasefire breakthrough which the whole world thought meant the end of the war, the criminal returned to commit his crime in the most heinous way possible. He once again closed all crossings permanently and has prevented any food aid from reaching our people in Gaza for more than two months now. The signs of famine are clearly taking shape, and up until the moment of writing these lines, 53 infant children have fallen as martyrs due to hunger. We do not mean here that hunger was an indirect cause of death; it was the direct cause!

The great famine in Gaza reminds us of the days of the Muslims' siege in the Valley of Abu Talib.

Our world today witnesses the Great Famine of Gaza, which reminds us of the days of the siege of Muslims in the Valley of Abu Talib. However, the difference at that time was the presence of a number of noble idolaters who refused to be part of the machine of siege and killing, and their efforts came together to break the siege.

As for today, we do not find in our nation anyone motivated by zeal to break the siege by air, sea, or land, despite the capabilities of Arab and Muslim countries to challenge the Zionist siege if they so wish!

What prevents Egypt from opening the Rafah crossing wide open for anyone who wishes to enter Gaza? Let Israel bomb whoever it wants among the convoys breaking the siege and create a global crisis for itself. What prevents the armies that were dropping aid from planes in the early days of the war from repeating that experience? Let Israel try to intercept the planes and find itself in a political crisis with the world.

Many unanswered questions exist, with no convincing answers except for complete helplessness, if not for some descending to the level of participating in the siege. In the midst of all this, the people of Gaza remain as they are, filled with patience, steadfastness, and defiance against this hunger, in scenes that bewilder the minds of those who do not possess the steadfast heart of a Gazan, which is filled with the meaning of determination to endure.

Read also: Between the Siege of the Valley and the Siege of Gaza

Singing the praises of the resilience of the people of Gaza is not enough; there must be actual action to break the siege.

Praising the steadfastness of the people of Gaza is of no use without actual action to aid them. What if the Arab peoples took to the streets to break the siege on the people of Gaza? What if thousands of Egyptians marched in convoys to break the siege and forcefully open the crossing? What if the angry masses, boiling with rage over these crimes, surrounded the occupying embassies everywhere around the world, exposing them and compelling them to lift the unjust siege and allow trucks carrying flour, fuel, and food to enter?

Many options are carried by both people and governments today, but they only require courage, and this courage fundamentally needs humanity in the hearts. Whenever the feeling of humanity is present, change occurs immediately.

It is a call to support the resilience of the people of Gaza today as they stand against the madness led by the butcher Netanyahu and his gang of religious Zionist lunatics who do not see us as human beings at all. Let us stop glorifying the valor and steadfastness of the people of Gaza without truly and sincerely extending a helping hand to them. We have had enough of the betrayal that has led us to this situation.

Read the article in Arabic