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The Gaza Strip faces a severe food emergency that affects hundreds of thousands of people. According to the IPC, the international method for measuring the seriousness of food crises, two out of the three conditions that identify a famine have already been passed in some parts of Gaza.
More than 20% of families cannot get enough to eat and acute malnutrition now affects more than 30% of the population. The only measure still awaiting full confirmation, and expected soon, is the death rate.
Recent United Nations reports state that over half a million people—almost one in four—are surviving in famine conditions and often spend entire days without food. Day after day, the continued fighting, the blockade keeping aid out and the collapse of basic services, make survival even harder.
Children are especially exposed to these consequences: more than 320,000 under five years old are at risk of acute malnutrition and may suffer lasting harm. Most health centres still open are at breaking point and struggle to provide both care and nourishment.
Given the seriousness of the situation, hearing directly from someone living and working on the front lines is invaluable for truly understanding what this humanitarian crisis means.
Ghada Al-Haddad, head of media and communications for Oxfam in Gaza, spoke to Byline Times about the harsh reality of hunger and famine and what it means for the people of Gaza, offering a human, and well-documented, perspective on what so often stays hidden behind numbers and official reports.
Andrea Umbrello (AU): Can you help us understand what hunger and malnutrition look like today in the Gaza Strip?
Ghada Al-Haddad (GAH) “Today, everyone in Gaza is hungry. Leading experts on food and nutrition to warn that we are now facing the worst that can happen—famine itself.
“In recent days, the number of people dying because of hunger has risen at a worrying pace. We know that unless people receive constant supplies of food, safe water, medical care, and other essential goods, these numbers will grow even faster in the days ahead.
We see our families, friends, and neighbours struggle to find their next meal, often coming up empty-handed. There are people collapsing in the streets, children so weak and hungry they cannot even cry
Ghada Al-Haddad, head of media and communications for Oxfam in Gaza
“We are almost powerless to stop any of this while the siege and the Israeli bombardment go on, making any food in the markets incredibly expensive and stopping humanitarian aid at the borders. We are truly on the edge of a point from which there may be no way back.
“Children, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, pregnant women, and nursing mothers are among those most at risk from malnutrition, but by now the whole population is in danger. Without a rapid and lasting flow of aid, which only an immediate and permanent ceasefire can make possible, we will see the number of victims grow even more, bringing devastating long-term consequences.”
Al-Haddad is highly critical of the current state of humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, where the system has been drastically reduced to a few military-controlled sites overseen by the Israeli army.
These locations, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, have caused serious problems, with hundreds of civilians killed or injured while trying to get food rations and other essentials.
The Oxfam representative says the Israeli siege continues to prevent the safe entry and distribution of food, water, and other vital aid and urges officials to bring back the tried and tested humanitarian system, based on public international bodies and trustworthy organisations. This system must be allowed to work without obstacles to make sure aid actually reaches those who need it most, Al-Haddad told Byline Times.
The current distribution model, she said is a “sharp contrast to what we know works and our humanitarian principles, which is that people risk death when seeking help”.
The militarisation of aid, with sites guarded by Israeli soldiers and private armed guards, makes accessing aid an unsafe and deadly journey for the civilian population.
Regarding accusations that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a military-run or heavily influenced group that is effectively creating a form of humanitarian “governance” that limits access and puts civilians at risk, Al-Haddad believes that “these sites would not be necessary if the humanitarian system, which is well-established and proven, were allowed to operate”.
The foundation, she says, is a controlling element that replaces local and international organisations that have the experience, knowledge, and trust of the Gaza communities. These organisations are ready to get back to work to save lives, but they are unable to do so because of the imposed restrictions.
AU: For a family in the Gaza Strip, does it come down to choosing between starving to death or risking their lives to get food?
GAH: “Every day, Palestinians in Gaza must make extreme decisions just to survive.
They have to decide whether to stay in their neighbourhoods or obey constant orders to leave. They must consider whether to stay inside or go out desperately searching for food and essential supplies, knowing that either choice could lead to death in an Israeli attack
Ghada Al-Haddad, head of media and communications for Oxfam in Gaza
“Today, this cruel dilemma is even more painful because many know that going to aid distribution points puts them at risk of being attacked and killed, as has already happened. This is yet another way Palestinians are harmed and stripped of their humanity.”
Ghada Al-Haddad described the water crisis as the result of specific political choices and says that most people rely on very limited desalination plants or heavily polluted aquifers.
According to the International Committee to Support the Rights of the Palestinian People, around 96% of water in the Gaza Strip is undrinkable due to the complete collapse of infrastructure, and the average daily amount of water per person ranges from three to five litres. This compares to the roughly one