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Gaza: A Palestinian family gathered among the rubble of their house in Rafah, Gaza Strip on Monday to break their fast. They, like hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, are struggling to get food. The aid entering the territory is not enough to feed the more than 2 million living in Gaza where, according to the United Nations, half of the population is facing “catastrophic hunger.”
“The situation in Rafah in general, is overpopulated. I find comfort here in my home despite the bombing, fear, destruction, and lack of safety. We eat Iftar (meal eaten as Muslims break the Ramadan fast at sunset each day). I feel it is a better shelter here than anywhere else.”,” said Rafah resident Amal al Rabayah as she washed vegetables in the destroyed building that she still calls home.
She recalled the last Ramadan when she decorated her house with beautiful artefacts and paintings. However, this time, the devastating war has ruined all decorations and turned into rubles.
“We welcomed the last Ramadan with decorations and beautiful things, with carob juice and a plate of eggs. This Ramadan is deprived of all of these things that I mentioned. I was not able to provide my children with any of life’s basics, to the point that my daughter asked me and said that she wanted to eat boiled eggs, and I told her how can I bring you boiled eggs? The situation does not allow us to. Our situation was below zero before the war, so what do you expect after the war? Worse and worse, and we thank Allah in every case,” she said.
Earlier on Monday, the United Nations chief said 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip are facing hunger, as he again called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.
“We must act now to prevent the unthinkable, the unacceptable and the unjustifiable,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
While not blaming Israel, the secretary-general’s comments to reporters on Monday were clearly aimed at its ongoing military offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ surprise October 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage. The Israeli offensive has killed over 31,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which says about two-thirds of the dead are women and children.
Referencing a report issued Monday by the Integrated Food Security Classification System, or IPC, Guterres said that “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering.”
The IPC report states that the latest evidence confirms that famine “is imminent in the northern governorates of the Gaza Strip and projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024.”
(With inputs from agency)
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