Displaced families in Gaza are enduring severe food shortages and dwindling humanitarian aid as the conflict between Israel and Hamas stretches into its 21st month. With aid deliveries severely restricted, many Palestinians are struggling to secure even basic necessities, exacerbating what international organizations describe as a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Raed al-Athamna, a displaced Palestinian father in Gaza City, told Deutsche Welle (DW) that each day is consumed by the search for food. "There is nothing to eat. There is no bread, as I cannot afford to buy flour. It is too expensive," he said in a phone interview, as foreign journalists remain barred from entering Gaza. "Today, we had some lentils for the kids and my mom, but tomorrow, I don’t know."

Al-Athamna, who once worked as a driver for foreign journalists, said he was at a loss to describe the worsening conditions. "There are Israeli airstrikes and shelling all the time. I’ve seen people fainting in the streets because they haven’t eaten. Social media is full of videos of people just collapsing."

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 88% of Gaza is now subject to evacuation orders or designated as military zones. These areas include most of Gaza’s agricultural land, forcing displaced populations into ever-shrinking spaces and severely obstructing aid distribution.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have issued urgent warnings over Gaza’s escalating hunger crisis.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated Wednesday that a large portion of Gaza’s population is now starving. "I don’t know what you would call it other than mass starvation. It’s man-made, and that’s very clear," he said.
Ross Smith, WFP Emergency Director, reported Monday that "a third of the population are not eating for multiple days in a row, this includes women and children." He described the crisis as reaching "new and astonishing levels of desperation."

With no ceasefire in place and humanitarian access severely restricted, Gaza’s displaced population faces an increasingly dire future. The UN and aid agencies continue to call for immediate action to prevent further starvation and suffering.

For now, families like al-Athamna’s survive day by day, uncertain where their next meal will come from. "The day revolves around thinking about where to find food," he said, a sentiment echoing across Gaza’s devastated streets.