As Muslims in Gaza prepare to observe Eid this weekend, marking the end of Ramadan, families are facing extreme hardship with food supplies cut off for nearly a month.
Rania Hegazy, 38, who now shelters in a tent in Gaza City with her husband and three children, was forced to evacuate Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza last week following Israeli army orders.
“We’re surviving on canned food. There’s no clean water or proper hygiene,” Hegazy told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife on Thursday. “Last Ramadan was bad, but this one is even worse.”
Nearly a month after Israel imposed a full blockade on aid and goods entering Gaza, humanitarian organizations warn that food supplies are dwindling while prices continue to soar. Hegazy described the daily struggle to find food, particularly during Ramadan, a time when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.
“It’s been more than a year and a half of being forced to move from place to place. My children have suffered a lot,” she said.
Eid, which marks the end of fasting, is expected on Sunday, but Hegazy says she has no way to fulfill her children’s requests for new clothes or toys.
“My daughter asks for a simple Eid outfit, but I can’t get that for her,” she said, wiping away tears.
Last year, her family was sheltering in northern Gaza before being displaced due to heavy bombardment. Now, they break their fast with whatever they can find—often just rice with canned food. On Thursday, another family in the encampment shared a bowl of macaroni.
“Today, we found a portion of rice, and thank God we did,” she said. “Last Ramadan, we couldn’t even find rice—there was mass starvation.”
Food Prices Soar Amid Blockade
Israel resumed bombings and ground operations in Gaza last week after a two-month ceasefire collapsed. Two weeks prior, it reimposed a ban on humanitarian aid, citing efforts to pressure Hamas into releasing remaining hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to seize Gaza territory if Hamas refuses.
Before the war, Ramadan in Gaza was a time for family gatherings with meals featuring meats, salads, and traditional desserts like qatayef. Now, food prices have skyrocketed. The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that a 25-kilogram bag of wheat flour now costs up to $71—a 400% increase since March 18.
With unemployment widespread and no income opportunities, families like Hegazy’s struggle to afford basic necessities.
“My husband has no work. There’s nothing. We’re just moving from one place to another,” she said.
Hunger and Malnutrition Threaten Thousands
Since Israeli airstrikes resumed last week, at least 855 Palestinians have been killed and 1,869 injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. More than half of those killed were women and children.
Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed described how children in Gaza, desperate for food, have started drawing pictures of meals in the sand. “My friend told me he watches food videos because he dreams of eating meat or fish,” he posted on X.
According to WFP, hundreds of thousands of Gazans face severe hunger and malnutrition. The agency says it has only 5,700 tonnes of food stock left in Gaza—enough to last two weeks.
“We are distributing as much food as possible, as quickly as possible,” WFP stated.
Mansoura Marouf, 52, sheltering in the same Gaza City tent encampment, has been relying on food shared by neighbors. She lost her only two sons earlier in the war, leaving behind seven orphaned grandchildren.
“This is the second Ramadan we break our fast in the streets,” she said. “Our backs are broken. My children died, and we’ve been left scrambling for shelter. This Ramadan is dark. This Eid is dark.”
Source: Swifteradio.com.
