by 
Residents describe dire conditions, with families surviving on minimal rations like lentils and salt water. Mohammad Mahmoud, a father of four, told the BBC, “We haven’t eaten anything except a bit of lentils in two days,” highlighting the soaring cost of essentials, with flour priced at $80 (£60) per kilogram. A cancer nurse, Randa, shared a harrowing account, stating, “Hunger is killing us faster than illness ever could,” as she witnesses patients dying from malnutrition-weakened bodies at Nasser hospital in southern Gaza.
Teenager Saba Nahed Alnajjar, displaced to al-Mawasi, said, “I can’t hold on any longer,” weighing just 35 kilograms due to severe malnutrition. Noura Hijazi, a mother in Gaza City, described her 20-month-old daughter’s drastic weight loss and immobility, stating, “She asks for food, but I can’t find any.” Medical workers, including Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya of Shifa hospital, warn of alarming child mortality rates, with 21 children dying from starvation in the past 72 hours and 900,000 facing hunger.
The UN’s Human Rights Office reports 1,054 deaths linked to aid-seeking since May, with 766 near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites and 288 near other aid convoys. Israel and the GHF dispute these figures, claiming the system prevents Hamas from stealing aid, though the UN deems it unethical and refuses cooperation. Israel’s military operations, including a recent ground assault in Deir al-Balah, have intensified the crisis, with the UN warning that Gaza’s “last lifelines” are collapsing. Hospitals face closure within 48 hours due to fuel shortages, blamed on Israeli restrictions.
International journalists, including the BBC, are barred from freely reporting in Gaza, with limited access granted under strict military oversight. A journalist visiting an aid site near Khan Younis described “chaotic” scenes, with crowds surging for supplies amid tear gas and non-lethal rounds fired by US security contractors. The Israeli military acknowledged civilian harm but said it aims to minimize “friction” at distribution points.
Foreign ministers from 25 countries, mostly European, have urged Israel to comply with international law and improve aid access. In the US, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump “hates seeing pictures of starvation” and prioritizes a peaceful aid process, though no direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were confirmed.
As Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, prepares troops for a “wide-scale” campaign, Gaza’s residents, like pharmacist Suha Shaath, describe a “slow death” from hunger. “The world seems to have forgotten us,” she said, echoing calls for a ceasefire amid relentless hardship.
