Gaza's horror through a mother's eyes as famine and war rage on
Image: WHO
Gaza is slipping deeper into famine as the conflict rages on and humanitarian aid remains blocked. Inside this shrinking strip of land, mothers search desperately for food and water, while children die of hunger.
Youmna El Sayed, a mother of four and Al Jazeera English correspondent, left Gaza in January 2024, but she doesn't feel relief. She carries with her the weight of those left behind.
Now based just a few kilometres away, El Sayed said every day is a battle to reconcile the horror she's witnessed with the expectation to 'be normal'.
'It was and still is very complicated to live like a normal human being when you have your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours still living a daily genocide that you know how horrible it is, while you're now in a place couple of kilometres away yet every other person lives a normal life and expects you to be normal like them. But they have no idea that this itself is a a complex trauma that we carry and live within every day.'
El Sayed lived in Gaza for a decade, having moved there permanently in 2014. Among the worst memories that haunt her as a mother, she recalled the day she couldn't find drinking water for her children.
'One of the worst days for me as a mother was when I couldn't find drinking water for my children for an entire night and day. As a mother it's heart aching.
For El Sayed, the desperation of survival became heartbreakingly real. 'We had to share a bottle of 500ml of water the six of us. I watched them go thirsty and I gave them sips of water as I and my husband remained without because we had no choice.'
Hundreds of protesters banged pots and pans outside the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre, calling for an end to the genocide and starvation of the Palestinian people.
Image: Armand Hough
Her youngest child, Juju, found comfort in imagination. 'My youngest Juju, folded half the bread into half and told me I'll imagine this to be a manouche – thyme and olive oil sandwich. Her only wish at the time were for such a simple sandwich that she hadn't eaten for months.'
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said at least 30 children have died of hunger since July 17 and about 60 000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023.
More than half a million people are already estimated to be in what is known as a stage 5 catastrophe yet, the genocidal policy of mass starvation and killing people desperately seeking food in Gaza continues unabated.
'Starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,' the IPC said, calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Palestine.
This week, the IPC issued a Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Alert describing the crisis as 'a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes.'
The IPC of which the World Health Organization (WHO) is a member, issued one of its gravest alerts yet, saying "famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.'
Gaza's humanitarian catastrophe has worsened rapidly in recent weeks. According to the IPC, malnutrition has surged in July, with over 20 000 children treated for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, including more than 3000 severely malnourished.
Ross Smith, Director of Emergencies at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), underscored the scale of the crisis. 'It's clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens. This is not a warning, this is a call to action. This is unlike anything we have seen in this century."
South African movement Mothers4Gaza says it remains in contact with women on the ground in Gaza through solidarity networks. Ayesha Bagus, speaking on behalf of the group, said the stories from inside are harrowing.
'Their messages are devastating,' she said. 'They speak of watching their children visibly waste away from hunger, of boiling weeds and animal feed just to keep them alive for another day, of scraping together contaminated water to survive.'
Bagus said medical care is 'virtually non-existent' due to sustained Israeli attacks on the healthcare system.
'Hospitals have been bombed. Medicines are denied. Pregnant women are giving birth without anaesthetic. Children die from diarrhoea and dehydration. Babies are having their limbs amputated without painkillers.'
'This is not a humanitarian failure; it is Israeli strategy, which their leaders have vocalised publicly. It is a siege, weaponised against some two million civilians.'
Cape Town Protesters Rally Outside Holocaust Centre for Palestine.
Image: Armand Hough
'The UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has confirmed that famine conditions are already in motion. Over 500,000 Palestinians are in IPC Phase 5: starvation. Acute malnutrition has quadrupled in Gaza City and crossed the famine threshold. Babies are dying. Families - babies, children, parents, grandparents, go entire days without food.'
She added: 'Israel's targeted attacks on bakeries, farmlands, fishing boats, and water systems are not accidents. They are systematic and deliberate. Starvation is not collateral damage. It is Israeli policy.'
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