Gaza aid stampede highlights desperation of Palestinians

THE CHAOS punctuated by heavy Israeli fire that killed 115 Palestinians trying to get bags of flour from an aid convoy highlights the desperation of the hundreds of thousands struggling to survive amid the devastation of northern Gaza after nearly five months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

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Residents say they have taken to searching piles of rubble and garbage for anything to feed their children, who barely eat one meal a day.

Many families have begun mixing animal and bird food with grain to bake bread. International aid officials say they have encountered catastrophic hunger. 'We're dying from starvation,' Soad Abu Hussein, a widow and mother of five children who has taken shelter in a school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, said Saturday.

Northern Gaza has borne the brunt of the conflict that began when Hamas launched an attack into southern Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing around 250 hostages.