by Sami Abu Salem, WAFA
In the Al-Karama neighborhood in northern Gaza, tens of thousands of hungry civilians gather almost daily, waiting for the humanitarian aid that is supposed to reach them. Some return as dead bodies, carried on shoulders, or carrying a bag of flour, perhaps empty-handed, or they disappear and are registered as “missing”.
Every day, Gazans head to three distribution points: Rafah in the south, near the Shuhada Junction in the center, and Jabalia in the north. These are the locations designated by the Israeli occupation forces, where dozens are killed almost daily.
The Israeli occupation army has killed approximately 450 civilians waiting for aid in the north, center, and south of the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources, since the limited entry of some aid began in late May.
Yesterday, specialized crews were able to retrieve the bodies of 15 people killed, citizens who were waiting for aid from Al-Waha Street in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the bodies of more than twenty people who were bombed by the occupation forces, which also killed 50 hungry people who were waiting for food, are still in the “Al-Tahlia” area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip .
Fathers, mothers, university graduates, students, workers, and employees arrive at the waiting point on foot, on horse-drawn carts, or by climbing onto trucks to spend the night there.
Despite the risk of death by the occupation’s bullets, these people search the land near the Al-Karama neighborhood, unconcerned by the sounds of massive explosions. They feel the ground in the dark, searching for a spot free of gravel, large enough for their bodies to stretch out in search of some rest.
Ghassan Ziyada (46 years old), one of those who climbed a transport truck to reach the Al-Karamah area, said that he works as an Islamic education and Arabic language teacher and comes here embarrassed.
“I teach the students basic principles: don’t lie, don’t steal, and don’t violate the rights of others. But I have to come here just because I’m hungry. I have no choice,” Ziada said .
Ziyada, a father of six, asserted that if he did not do this, his children would die of hunger. He pointed out that this behavior used to be the responsibility of thieves and bandits, but now all citizens are forced to adopt it because of hunger .
Regarding the danger, Ziada said it was a “suicide mission” motivated by hunger. There was a risk of dying from bombing or my children dying of starvation, “both of which are bitter choices”.
One of the women who went out in the evening waiting for aid said that she was forced to do so because the children’s father had been injured and had been bedridden since the beginning of the aggression, and there was no one to support her four children .
“It is very shameful for us women to go out, as it involves contact with men and being away at night, and this is not part of our customs. However, there has been no aid distributed by international organizations for three months, and we have no other choice,” said the woman, who declined to reveal her name and used only the title Umm Muhammad .
Night fell, and some of them lit a fire to ward off the mosquitoes. Fayez Obaid (27 years old), a law school graduate, told a WAFA correspondent that he had been waiting here for 6 hours. He came with a group of relatives and friends, waiting for the trucks that might or might not arrive .
“This is the sixth night I’ve been here. We spend hours fighting mosquitoes at night, flies during the day, and the smell of sewage all the time. We wait, hungry. Once, I managed to get a little flour from a torn bag.”
He noted that he and his colleagues come as groups to help each other during any bombing or to protect themselves from thieves and bandits. “The situation is dangerous because of the occupation’s bullets and the thieves,” Obaid said.
Chaos and heavy gunfire broke out among the citizens waiting for aid. They ran back, some carrying a bag of flour on their shoulders, others left the bag and fled, and others lay on the ground to avoid the bullets and arrived crawling.
A group of citizens emerged from the crowd, carrying young Mohammed al-Za’anin onto a wooden cart used for transporting goods. Occupation soldiers killed al-Za’anin while he was carrying flour to his starving sisters in their shelter .
Ahmed Awili (19 years old) told a WAFA correspondent that as soon as he approached the aid truck, gunfire opened, so he fled without looking back. He pointed out that he saw a number of citizens killed and injured .
Not only death awaits the hungry, but also absence and non-return. Since the day before yesterday, some families have been appealing on social media to the public to find their sons who went out in search of food and have not returned for several days .
The Al-Shaer family is appealing to citizens to help find their son, Hussam (52 years old), who went missing near the distribution point in the central Gaza Strip three days ago. Meanwhile, the Khala family is searching for their son, Ahmed (20 years old), who went missing at the aid point in northern Gaza.
Social media platforms are also flooded with dozens of appeals from families searching for their children who went out in search of aid and have not returned for several days .
Since early March, the Israeli occupying forces have been preventing the entry of any type of food or medical aid, whether from international organizations or otherwise, creating a severe hunger crisis .
However, after sharp international criticism, it imposed a chaotic, insufficient, and dangerous mechanism for distributing some aid. The occupation and the company working alongside it are distributing limited quantities of food baskets to tens of thousands of civilians who are being killed by bullets and military vehicles.
The NGO Network had warned against the mechanism for distributing US aid in the Gaza Strip, saying it posed a direct threat to the lives of civilians in light of the systematic targeting of civilians at aid distribution points .
The network stressed the need to halt this mechanism and return to working through UN agencies and international and local humanitarian organizations, as the current mechanism “serves the occupation’s agenda of deepening the humanitarian crisis.”
Imad Jaber just arrived, carrying a bottle of water, ready to wait. He said that this scene is a daily routine practiced by citizens, after it was previously reserved for thieves.
“Waiting for trucks to get some food used to be the job of thieves and armed bandits, but now everyone is waiting for trucks. Most of them are just hungry citizens.”
Amjad Aram (41 years old), who used to work as a cook in a hotel, said that his wife was six months pregnant and might lose her fetus due to malnutrition .
“I have to bring her anything edible, and this is the only way. There is no work and the financial reserves have run out after two years of aggression,” Aram said.
Since October 2023, the occupation forces have killed 55,706 civilians, the majority of them children and women, and injured 130,101 in their war of extermination on the Gaza Strip. A number of victims remain under the rubble, unable to be reached by ambulances and civil defense teams.
