In war-torn Gaza, desperation has reached unbearable levels as civilians risk their lives daily in a relentless search for food. With over 55,000 people already killed in the ongoing conflict, the death toll continues to rise—not just from bombings, but also from the simple act of seeking aid.
Hind Al-Nawajha, a 38-year-old mother of four from Beit Lahiya, embodies this crisis. Alongside her sister, she embarks on dangerous miles-long treks each day to reach food distribution points. Often ducking gunfire and hiding behind rubble, she says every journey is a gamble with death.
“You either return home with food, return in a shroud, or return empty-handed to the cries of your children,” Hind said, visibly exhausted.
In just the last two days, Gaza’s health officials reported that dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes while trying to access food aid.
Among them were at least 12 individuals near a site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in central Gaza. On Thursday alone, medics recorded 51 deaths across various incidents, including airstrikes on the Shati refugee camp and Jabalia, which killed at least 33 people—many of them women and children.
The Israeli military stated it fired warning shots to deter “suspects” who posed a threat near Netzarim, an area in central Gaza. While they claimed no injuries were reported, Palestinian medics painted a grimly different picture.
GHF, meanwhile, accused Gaza’s health ministry of releasing inaccurate reports and denied that Palestinians access its facilities via the Netzarim corridor. However, it declined to address whether it was aware of any casualties near its aid sites.
Over the past few weeks, the Gaza health ministry says hundreds of civilians have been killed while attempting to reach GHF locations. Aid groups and the United Nations have condemned this delivery system as dangerous, ineffective, and a breach of humanitarian principles.
The U.N. also criticized Israel for blocking essential supplies like tents and tarps from entering the region since March 1, leaving over 1 million people without proper shelter, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The roots of the current Gaza war trace back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel began a full-scale military assault that has displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million residents and sparked a growing hunger crisis.
Hind and her sister now sleep beside the road near a U.N. food distribution center in Gaza City, trying to push their way through chaotic crowds whenever aid arrives. “There’s never enough. Men shove past us. Children cry. We walk kilometers with torn shoes and bruised feet,” she said.
For families like Hind’s, hope is fading fast. In Gaza, survival is no longer about living—it’s about not dying on the way to find a bag of flour.
