Hayed Hamad did not want to repeat his parents’ choice in 1948, when they fled what is now Israel to save themselves. Like many Palestinians tied to Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in the north, he describes it as a stubborn, rebellious, and proud community that stopped obeying the Israeli occupation. “I’d rather die at home than survive in a tent in the south,” he says on the other end of the line. The home feels foreign since this war began, and in the last 100 days it has been attacked 14 times. Leaving the house to find food grows harder with each passing day. “You meet a lot of people who go three days without eating,” he says. “There is immense need, people are suffering beyond words, and because it is hard for me to say no, I often give what I have.”
The civilian population endures immense humiliation, yet there is something new they have never faced before: large-scale hunger. A recent United Nations report notes that a quarter of Gazans are gravely hungry, with more than half a million affected. In some areas, nine out of ten people go to bed without a meal all day. The blockade, intensified after the Hamas attacks on October 7, has left the living conditions dire. A UN official stated that electricity, fuel, and basic services have all been disrupted, intensifying hardships for residents.
The north, already under occupation from the early weeks of the conflict, stands out for its severity. Entry is restricted, exit is controlled, and the landscape has been pounded by relentless bombardment described as among the worst in modern warfare. Attempts to send aid convoys north have repeatedly stalled or failed due to security concerns and access barriers, a point raised by Martin Griffiths, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, before international bodies this week.
Deaths on an unprecedented scale
Only since January have three of twenty-one aid convoys managed to reach food and medicine depots. The UN reports that aid workers entering the north faced terrifying scenes: bodies in the streets, people collapsing from starvation, and trucks attacked as they tried to deliver supplies. In a conflict lasting more than three months, one in twenty people in Gaza have died, been wounded, or gone missing, according to health authorities still working amid rubble and disruption.
The northern part of Gaza, home to one of humanity’s oldest cities, has transformed into an unrecognizable ruin. Satellite analysis cited by major news agencies shows that much of the built environment has vanished. Residents like Hamad describe a landscape where homes and neighborhoods resemble a scene from a nightmare, with no recognizable landmarks remaining. Families have been forced to move repeatedly, carrying children, an elderly mother-in-law, and whatever could be saved while dealing with a stomach illness spreading through the population due to contaminated water.
Food prices rise at a shocking pace
When not fleeing, Hamad spends hours scouring for food and water. The north has no functioning furnaces since early November. Rice becomes the staple, with canned corn, beans, or mushrooms appearing only occasionally. “You’re lucky to eat once a day,” says the 60-year-old Hamad. Before the fighting, roughly 500 trucks a day moved through the blockade to address shortages. Now that number hovers near a hundred, a drop that has intensified in the last fortnight.
There is little storage for staples like pasta, chicken, or fresh vegetables. Fields in the north were uprooted and destroyed, forcing people to slaughter livestock in desperation when there is no feed. With distribution points scarce, residents rely on UN schools as places to seek aid, away from the centers of military presence. Markets sprout in front of homes as a basic barter system emerges, but prices are sky-high and wages are non-existent for months. A sack of flour once affordable now costs hundreds of euros, pushing families into debt and into homelessness as unemployment and economic collapse tighten their grip.
The translator who also works with foreign journalists notes the heavy debt burden and the inability to repay, as households struggle to keep themselves alive while living without security or income.
The use of hunger as a weapon of war
Human Rights Watch recently highlighted the use of hunger as a weapon of war, a claim the Israeli government has denied. International bodies have debated these charges as the conflict continues. In The Hague, discussions about potential genocide claims proceed with careful scrutiny. Government officials have been linked to efforts to minimize the population in Gaza, a troubling dynamic that underscores the severity of the crisis.
UN officials warn that conditions on the ground are dire: shelters are overflowing, food and water are dwindling, and the risk of famine increases daily. The humanitarian leadership urges immediate action to relieve the suffering and prevent further catastrophe.