Palestinians struggle to feed families as Israel blocks aid for nearly 60 days

For nearly 60 days, no food, fuel, medicine or other item has entered the Gaza Strip, blocked by Israel. Aid groups are running out of food to distribute and markets are nearly bare. Palestinian families are left struggling to feed their children.

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In the sprawling tent camp outside the southern city of Khan Younis, Mariam al-Najjar and her mother-in-law emptied four cans of peas and carrots into a pot and boiled it over a wood fire. They added a little bouillon and spices.

That, with a plate of rice, was the sole meal on Friday for the 11 members of their family, including six children.

Among Palestinians, “Fridays are sacred,” a day for large family meals of meat, stuffed vegetables or other rich traditional dishes, al-Najjar said.

“Now we eat peas and rice,” she said. “We never ate canned peas before the war. Only in this war that has destroyed our lives,” she said.

The around 2.3. million Palestinians in Gaza are now mainly living off canned vege-tables, rice, pasta and lentils. Meat, milk, cheese and fruit have disappeared. Bread and eggs are scarce. The few vege-tables or other items in the market have skyrocketed in price, unaffordable for most.

“We can’t get anything that provides any protein or nutri-ents,” al-Najjar said.

Israel imposed the blockade on 2 March, then shattered a two-month ceasefire by resum-ing military operations on 18 March. It said both steps aim to pressure Hamas into releas-ing hostages. Rights groups call the blockade a “starvation tactic” endangering the entire population and a potential war crime.

Malnutrition hitting chil-dren at a key time in their development.