Women and children are risking their lives to obtain essential supplies for their families from aid trucks arriving through the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza since late July, amidst reports of casualties along food convoy routes or near Israeli-militarized distribution hubs.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday that over 100 people had been killed in the past two days alone, with hundreds more injured, along food convoy routes or near distribution hubs designated by Israel.
Click to Gallery
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
The OCHA emphasized that no one should ever be forced to risk their lives to access food. Civilians must always be safeguarded, and large-scale community-level aid delivery should be facilitated, not hindered.
At the Zikim crossing, Asma Masoud, displaced from northern Gaza with her fully paralyzed husband, went to the truck entry points in search of food.
"We never get our fair share of the aid. My husband is paralyzed, and there are widows and women like me who can't secure food for their children," she said.
Abir Safi, who lost her husband during the war and now solely provides for her children, said, "The UN used to distribute aid, and I could get it easily. Now, we get nothing. I risk my life going to Zikim and return with an empty bag. I just want to return to my children with something."
Mohammed Mudeiris, a young boy who lost his father in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, gathered food for his siblings from aid trucks arriving through the Zikim crossing.
"I'm the eldest of my siblings after my father. My father was killed in an airstrike yesterday, and now I'm begging anyone to give me a plate of flour or one of the aid meals that arrived today -- we're seeing them for the first time," he said.
Inam Siam, a widow and mother of six, noted that thousands of women in her situation risk their lives every day to provide a meal for their children. They desire safety, peace, and a fair system that ensures aid reaches those in need.
"I'm a widow and mother of six orphaned children. They are all young children. One of my sons was injured in the war, and he is my oldest child. The rest are still young, so I have to bring them food," Siam said.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a global initiative that provides information on the scale and severity of food insecurity and malnutrition.
On July 29, it issued an alert highlighting the worst-case scenario of famine unfolding in Gaza, amid widespread starvation, malnutrition, disease, mass displacement, severely restricted humanitarian access, and the breakdown of essential services, including healthcare.
According to its latest report, famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.
Since Israel announced scaled-up aid deliveries and tactical pauses to ensure safe passage for UN convoys, the OCHA has stated that the amount of aid entering Gaza remains insufficient, and UN convoys continue to face delays and security risks along Israeli-designated routes.
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
Women, children risk lives for supplies in northern Gaza
