Jehad Al-Assar, a resident of Deir El-Balah in the Gaza Strip, left his tent early in the morning to travel to Deir El-Balah to get food for his family.
His destination on Wednesday is a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)-run distribution point in Rafah, in the far south of Gaza.
Jehad walked a 10-kilometer (6.3 km) “grueling” walk. The project took 2 miles (mainly due to his pregnant wife’s and his two hungry daughters) before it was completed.
The GHF site was Jehad’s only hope as hunger spreads throughout Gaza as a result of Israel’s months-long blockade of the area.
Despite the controversy surrounding the organization, whose own head resigned on Sunday, saying that the GHF could not adhere to “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”
At least three Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in the chaos that surrounded the relief effort, highlighting the GHF’s lack of experience in handling aid distribution.
However, there are desperate and hungry people in Gaza. One of them is Jehad.
The 31-year-old made it for 90 minutes to the distribution center’s iron gates, where he stood alongside countless others, before they abruptly opened.
Crowds poured in, bringing in thousands of people. Jehad told Al Jazeera, “There was no order at all.” People rushed to the aid boxes’ stacked yard and walked into the inner hall, where more supplies were awaiting. ”
It was a real struggle in chaos. All crammed together, pushing to get what they could, men, women, and children. Just hunger and disorder, Jehad continued. There are no queues, no system, and no system.
People snatched whatever they could from the hallway. “Anyone who could lift two boxes took them,” he said. Priorities were set on cooking oil and sugar. They hurriedly left and grabbed what they wanted. ”
He claimed that what transpired left no trace of humanity. The crowd nearly nearly crushed me. ”
Armed foreign forces stood quietly nearby, unaffected. Jehad claimed that he confronted one of them when he approached one.
You’re not helping, you’re overseeing a famine, I told them. You ought to depart. You don’t need to be here. ‘”
Only a few items were recovered by Jehad: small sugar cans, pasta, and packets of biscuits that had been scattered on the ground. The long trip home took him with them in a plastic bag he tucked into his shoulder.
I had a small amount of. I was afraid to stay longer and suffer in the stampede, so I had to leave something. I must have food for my girls. He said, “I have no other options.”
His daughters greeted him with joy when he left the tent, even for the things he had brought.
The food we bring home is divided between my wife and I so the kids can eat it for a few days. We frequently skip meals. I bear the full responsibility for feeding the kids because they can’t stand this, he said.
Apocalyptic
On Wednesday, there were also awad Abu Khalil’s desperate crowds. The 23-year-old described the frantic crowds as “apocalyptic” as they rushed to the restaurant.
Everyone was rushing, she said. Chaos prevailed. Everyone gathered their resources, grabbing what they could, and attacking it. ”
Awad claimed to have heard gunfire in the distance that was most likely directed at young men who were trying to cross designated streets.
He expressed extreme resentment toward the staff. I anticipated American staff to hand out individual donations at tables, not this nonsense. ”
Representatives from a number of nations have criticized Israel’s decision to stop the United Nations and other international humanitarian organizations from bringing aid to Gaza, adding to the international criticism of the GHF.
In early March, Israel halted Gaza’s aid flow while a ceasefire was in effect. Since unilaterally violating the ceasefire, it has increased its fighting there by more than 54,000 Palestinians, which is currently the highest official death toll.
Jehad remarked, “We used to get aid from international organizations and the UN.” No chaos, humiliation, or chaos, it was delivered by name, in a well-organized manner. ”
At least 10 Palestinians who were desperately seeking aid had been killed by Israeli forces in the previous 48 hours, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office report by the end of Wednesday.
Humiliation
Both Awad and Jehad were able to bring some food home.
Jehad claimed that his mother and wife soaked the pasta before pressing it into dough. The sugar was used by his wife to make the kids’ simple pudding. He promised to come back on Thursday, he said.
Even that is preferable for the majority of Gaza’s residents.
There are three children in Walaa Abu Sa’da. Only ten months old is her youngest.
The 35-year-old decided to travel to Rafah by herself because she couldn’t bear seeing her children starve while returning to the displacement camp in al-Mawasi in Khan Younis carrying food.
My husband and I engaged in a fight, and we both fought against the Israeli army. Walaa vowed to go on his own, according to Walaa.
She joined the crowd as it headed toward the distribution center, giving her children to her sister.
My kids were on the verge of starvation. No formula for babies, no food, or milk. They cried all day and night, and I had to fend for herself, she said, “because my neighbors were so poor.” Regardless of what my husband thought, I went. ”
However, it was already too late by the time Walaa reached Rafah.
What little was left, the people were arguing. Some of the parcels were torn, she claimed.
Walaa left the distribution center with nothing to show. She witnessed a man remove a bag of flour from his torn package on the way back.
She said, “I picked it up and asked if I could have it.” He yelled, “I came all the way from Beit Lahiya in the far north of Gaza to get this. I have nine hungry children. He walked away, “I’m sorry, sister, I can’t give it away.”
His words caused me to understand, but they broke me. For who we have turned into, I wept. ”
Walaa described the experience as being incredibly humiliating. She displayed inferiority and shame.
I wore a scarf to cover my face the entire time. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was going to receive a food parcel, according to Walaa, a teacher with a geography bachelor’s degree.
Walaa says she will do it again if necessary despite her grief.
Source: Aljazeera
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