Palestinians in south Gaza fear ‘famine worse than in north’

Palestinians in Rafah in southern Gaza Strip fear a “famine worse than in the north” as a result of the ongoing Israeli assault on the city.

The Israeli army’s seizure of the Rafah crossing has raised new concerns about aid delivery into Gaza. The United Nations has warned of grave famine risks.

Um Mohammed Dughmush is a displaced Gaza resident struggling to feed her children. She shares, “The children ask for food all night long. They always say ‘mother, grandmother, we are hungry’. I am also hosting displaced relatives, so in total we are 25.”

Dughmush shares her fears regarding the worsening humanitarian conditions: “I am afraid the situation [famine] here will be worse than in the north, because if the [Rafah] crossing is closed, we will die of hunger. They had only distributed canned food anyway, and we got sick of canned food. We want them to distribute good food to us, and we hope that the crossing will not be closed because our lives depend on the crossing.”

Wafaa Dughmush, a young displaced mother from Gaza, says: “All aid enter through the Rafah crossing, whether medicines, tents, clothes or food. As you can see, since the closure of the Rafah crossing four days ago, food has become scarce.”

She talks about the inability to meet the basic needs of her infant child: “We used to take milk from schools [turned to shelters], diapers, tissues, and food supplies. But after the crossing was closed, they stopped distributing aid [such as] diapers, food, or milk. My daughter must drink milk every day because she is a child.”

Rami al-Khour has similar worries as his other displaced counterparts: “We fear the famine because there are children, elderly folk, and sick who live in tents for the displaced.

“We are certain that there will be a famine in Rafah, similar to that in the north. They [Israeli army] began to strike, and there are many martyrs in Rafah.”

Najwa Dughmush describes the debilitating experience of constant hunger: “Hunger is really difficult. You will have to eat anything you can find. Previously [during winter], mallow was available, but now it is summer and you will have to eat whatever you may find. Feed is for animals, not humans.”