War is dangerous as it takes away several smiles from innocent faces. Amid the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, media reports reveal that in Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza has come to the extent of killing/ slaughtering horses to feed the children.
A family told the media, “We had no other choice but to slaughter the horses to feed the children. Hunger is killing us.”
Informing that Jabalia was the biggest camp of Palestinian territories before the war.
60 years old Gibril, fled to the area from nearby Beit Hanun when the conflict erupted. Now, he and his family reside in a tent near what used to be a UN-operated school.
The densely populated camp, established in 1948 and covering only 1.4 square kilometres (half a square mile), already faced challenges such as contaminated water, power shortages, and overcrowding. Poverty, stemming from high unemployment, was prevalent among its population of over 100,000 people.
Currently, the situation has worsened, as food supplies dwindle due to aid agencies being unable to access the area amid the bombings and the rampant looting of the few trucks attempting to deliver aid. The World Food Programme recently reported “unprecedented levels of desperation,” while the United Nations warned that 2.2 million people were at risk of famine.
Tragically, on Friday, the health ministry in Gaza, governed by Hamas, confirmed the death of a two-month-old baby from malnutrition in a hospital in Gaza City, which is approximately 7 kilometers (just over four miles) away from Jabalia.
Believing the health ministry, at least 29,606 people have lost their lives in Gaza during the ongoing conflict.
In the camp, disheveled children eagerly await, clutching plastic containers and worn cooking pots in anticipation of whatever scant food may become available.
As supplies dwindle, prices soar. A man laments the sharp increase in costs, citing the price of rice, which has skyrocketed from seven shekels ($1.90) to 55 shekels.
Expressing frustration, he exclaimed, “We adults may still manage somehow, but what have these innocent four and five-year-old children done to endure going to bed hungry and waking up hungry?”
UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, has issued a stark warning about the distressing shortage of food, escalating malnutrition, and the spread of disease, cautioning that these factors could precipitate a surge in child fatalities in Gaza.
Desperate residents resort to consuming scavenged remnants of spoiled corn, animal feed unsuitable for human consumption, and even leaves in an attempt to alleviate their growing hunger.
“We have no food, no flour, no potable water,” lamented a woman. “We’ve resorted to asking our neighbors for money. We don’t have a single shekel at home. We knock on doors, but no one is willing to help.”
