Gazans Make Life-Risking Journeys to Seek Food for Their Families

Medics Say at Least 51 More Killed by Israeli Fire, 12 of Whom Tried to Approach Aid Site

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GAZA/CAIRO - Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Ms Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, miles-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive.

Accompanied by her sister Mazouza, the mother of four has to duck down and hide behind a pile of rubble on the side of the road as gunshots echo nearby.

"You either come back carrying (food) for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset (without food) and your children will cry," said Ms Al-Nawajha, 38, a resident of Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza.

"This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it anymore."

On June 17 and 18, dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations (UN) and international relief agencies, Gaza medics said.

On June 19, medics said at least 51 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of killings of people seeking food.