Gaza residents described the BBC the effects of severe hunger on their bodies, after a UN -backed report confirmed hunger in parts of the territory for the first time.
Reem Tawfiq Khader, 41, the mother of five children in the city of Gaza, said: “The statement of hunger arrived too late, but is still important.
“We haven’t eaten protein for five months. My youngest son is four years old and doesn’t know the appearance or taste of fruits and vegetables.”
The UN says that Israel has severely restricted the amount of help that enters Gaza, which Israel denies.
Israel also denies that there is hunger in the territory, in direct contradiction with what they say more than 100 humanitarian groups, witnesses on site and various UN organs.
On Friday, the UN-backed Food Security (IPC) classification (IPC) said there was a hunger “entirely provoked by man” in the city of Gaza and neighboring areas.
The report warned that more than half a million people in the Gaza Strip were facing “catastrophic conditions” characterized by “hunger, misery and death.”
Raja Talbeh, 47, a mother of six, said she lost 25 kg. She fled from her home in the district of Zeiquan, in the city of Gaza, a month ago and now lives in a makeshift tent near the beach.
She suffers from gluten intolerance and said she could no longer find foods she could eat.
Hundreds of Palestinians were killed in humanitarian aid distribution sites administered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by Israel and the US. | Getty Images
“Before the war, an institution of charity helped me get gluten -free products, something I could never buy,” she said.
Since the war began, I can’t find what I need in the market and even when I find it, I don’t have the money to buy. It is no longer enough to face daily bombings, travel and live in a tent that does not protect us from the summer’s heat or the cold of winter – and now, besides, hunger?
Rida Hijeh, 29, said the weight of her five -year -old daughter Lamia fell from 19 kg (42 pounds) to 10.5 kg (23 pounds).
She said Lamia was healthy before the war began and had no previous disease.
“All this has happened just because of hunger,” she said.
“There is simply nothing for the child to eat. There are no vegetables, no fruits.”
Now Lamia suffers from her leg swelling, hair loss and nervous problems, she said.
She can’t walk. I went to many clinics, doctors and hospitals. Everyone told me that my daughter suffers from malnutrition. But none of them gave me anything, neither treatment, no support.
Mandy Blackman, a British nurse who works for the UK-Med charity in Gaza, said 70% of mothers who attend their maternal, prenatal and postnatal health clinics had clinical malnutrition.
“As a result, babies are born smaller and more vulnerable,” she said.
More than 62,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began their military campaign, in response to the attack led by Hamas south of Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 hostages.
Since the beginning of the war, at least 271 people, including 112 children, have died of “hunger and malnutrition”, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, administered by Hamas.
Another woman, Aseel, who lives in the city of Gaza, said: “Five months ago, I weighed 56 kg (123 pounds). Today, weight only 46 kg (101 pounds).”
She said she had not had a single fruit or meat for months and has spent almost all of her economies on basic ingredients to survive.
Aseel’s sister -in -law, with whom she lives, has a one month old baby.
“She was desperately looking for baby formula at a reasonable price,” said Aseel.
She said that when they can find it, it costs up to 180 Shekels (£ 39) by can.
“I have no stock of food, not enough to last a week or two,” he added.
“Like thousands of people, we live one day at a time.”
Originally published by BBC News on 08/22/2025
By Tom Bennett and Rushdi Abualouf, Gaza’s correspondent in Istanbul
Freya Scott-Turner Additional Report
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/08/23/meu-filho-mais-novo-nao-sabe-o-gosto-da-fruta-moradores-de-gaza-sobre-a-fome/
