Follow this family in Gaza as they chase the dream of food

CBC

4 days ago

Dinner in Gaza: A meal for one, split among seven
12 hours ago
Duration 1:27
A father of five living in a tent west of Gaza City says 'it's a good day' if his family eats one meal. According to a global hunger monitor, a 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out' in the region. CBC News followed the Abu Amsha family to show you what it's like to search for and buy food in Gaza after months of an Israeli imposed blockade and two years of war.
So dire is the search for food in Gaza, that one father says his biggest dream is to see his son with a piece of bread.
From inside the tent he shares with his wife and five children west of Gaza City, Mohammad Abu Amsha describes what it takes to chase that dream, and the deepening desperation of staying alive as the war rages on.
"The word difficult is not enough," said Mohammad, 39. "We are living a catastrophe."
If they eat at all, it's a good day, but it's not guaranteed after months of an Israeli imposed blockade and almost two years of war. Securing a single meal to feed his family is often a dangerous ordeal that stretches from morning till sunset.
And it begins with gathering scraps of cloth to sell.
The search for 'ribbons'
In Gaza, where fuel shortages abound, there's a demand for pieces of tattered material because they're efficient fire starters when soaked in diesel.
On this day, the task of finding the cloth falls on three of his children — Rahaf, 13, Ahmed, 11, and Fawzi, 10.
Their parents send them off with a blessing: "God is merciful, may they return soon."
When the children don't return after more than an hour, Mohammad becomes extremely worried about them.
He worries every time they go out into the streets. "I worry they'll get lost," he said. "I worry about them when there's a strike."
But eventually, they return with sacks on their backs, loaded with what look like scraps of rugs, nylon, shirts, an old hat.
Ahmed, 11, says, "I was hungry while I was walking."
Selling scraps for a meal
Now, it's up to Mohammad to find a buyer for the scraps. Only then can the family begin to search for food.
Some days, they come up empty, even after eight to 12 hours of trying.
Today, they're lucky.
Mohammad finds a buyer and they manage to scrounge up 20 shekels — about $8 Cdn — enough for pasta and lentils. He explains he would need double that to buy bread or some flour.
"We split among seven people," said Mohammad. "Everyone gets two spoonfuls."
This is the daily battle for the Abu Amsha family and tens of thousands like them in Gaza, where the latest alarm is the loudest yet.
Famine alert
On July 29, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which monitors hunger around the world, issued a famine alert for the enclave.
The IPC says they issued the alert to draw urgent attention to the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, and that more analysis will be conducted to determine if there will be a formal declaration of famine.
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According to their report, over 20,000 children were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, and hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths in children under five, with at least 16 deaths since July.
Ciaran Donnelly, senior vice-president for the International Rescue Committee, which has had aid workers on the ground in Gaza since the start of the war, says the alert should serve as a wake-up call.
"The thing about famine and these critical food insecurity and nutrition crises is … once they're underway, they're incredibly hard to stop," said Donnelly.
"We will see dozens of people turning into hundreds of people, turning into thousands of people losing their lives without urgent, immediate and large-scale action."
'We'll get you bread'
For the Abu Amsha family, that action cannot come fast enough.
"I would rather die than live the life I'm living," said the family's mother, Enas.
Still, she tries to keep hope alive for her children.
"I say, 'God willing, just be patient, be a little patient, eat crumbs, we'll get you bread, we'll get you spaghetti and flour.' "
For now, it's just a simple bowl of lentils mixed with pasta and water, prepared over a small fire.
Outside their tent, the family sits on the ground to share the meal poured into a single silver dish.
Today, they eat. Tomorrow, they may not.
Enas asks seven-year-old Husam what he wants.
"Bread," he says.