On April 27, my brother-in-law, Samer, was killed in Deir El-Balah in the center of Gaza when his vegetable stand was bombed. He was not armed. It was not a political figure. He was a peaceful man trying to earn a living to feed his children in a place where food has become more expensive than gold.
Samer was not a profession of profession. He was a lawyer who defended the rights of oppressed. But war forced him to change his way.
During the ceasefire, he was able to buy vegetables from local wholesalers. After the war resumed and the passages in Gaza were closed in March, the supplies decreased dramatically, but he maintained a small stock of vegetables. He continued to sell day and night, even if buyers have become rare due to high prices. He has often tried to give us vegetables for free by generosity, but I have always refused.
When I heard about the murder of Samer, I frozen. I tried to hide my husband’s news, but my tears told the truth. He seemed to want to shout, but the cry remained trapped in his throat. Something held him – perhaps his charged soul could no longer bear the expression of sorrow.
Samer left behind three small children and a family with a broken heart. No one expected his death. It was a shock. He was a young man good and with a pure heart, always cheerful and loving life and laughter, even in the most difficult moments.
I still remember that he was standing in front of his vegetable stand, calling customers with love.
Samer is one of countless food sellers who were killed in this genocidal war. Anyone used to provide or sell food has been targeted. Fruit and vegetable sellers, grocers, bakers, store owners and community cooking employees were bombed, as if they were dealing with weapons, not food. Bakeries, shops, farms and warehouses have been destroyed, as if the food they provided was a threat.
Ten days after the death of Samer, a restaurant and a market on Al-Wahda Street, one of the busiest in the Remal district of Gaza City, were bombed. At least 33 people were killed.
Two weeks before the martyrdom of Samer, the surroundings of a bakery in Jabaliya were bombed. A few days before that, a food distribution center in Khan Younis was targeted. According to the government’s media office in Gaza, more than 39 food and distribution centers and 29 community kitchens have been targeted since the start of the war.
It is now clear that in his deliberate famine campaign, Israel does not only block food when entering Gaza. It also destroys all the links of the food supply chain.
Due to the repeated targeting of sellers and markets, everything that is available now to buy – for those who can afford to buy food – are leftovers. Death has become easier than life in Gaza.
Famine affects babies and small children the worst. On May 21, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported at least 26 Palestinians, including nine children, died within 24 hours due to famine and lack of medical care in Gaza.
On May 5, the Gaza Ministry of Health said it had recorded the death of at least 57 children caused by malnutrition since the start of the help block in early March.
As a mother, I often spend days without eating just to feed my children whatever the little food we have left. My husband spends the whole day looking for anything to relieve our hunger, but usually comes back with simple remains. If we are lucky, we eat a piece of bread – often expired – with a tomato or cucumber that I also divide between our children.
The difficulty of Samer’s woman is even more unbearable. She tries to hide her tears from her children, who continue to ask when their father returns from the market. The loss forced her to become a father during the night, pushing her to stand in long queues in front of community kitchens just to get a little food.
She often returns empty -handed, trying to comfort her children with hollow words: “When dad comes back, he will bring us food.” Her children fall asleep, dreaming of a bite to fill his stomach – one that their late father will never bring.
Israel said he is blocking Gaza aid because Hamas takes him. The Western media, fully accomplices to distort the truth, have perceived the complaint.
However, it is clear that Israel does not only target Hamas, but the whole population of Gaza. He deliberately uses famine as a weapon of war against civilians, hindering the flow of humanitarian aid – a war crime, according to international law.
Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the real objective of his government more than appearing by demanding that all the Palestinians be expelled from Gaza as a condition to end the war.
His decision to authorize food through level passages is nothing other than a stroke of public relations. Enough flour has been left to have images of bread distributed in a bakery circulating in the media and reassuring the world that we do not die.
But these images do not reflect reality for us on the ground. My family has received no bread and also did not have the majority of families. FLOUR – If necessary – continue to cost $ 450 per bag.
While Israel claims that 388 aid trucks have entered since Monday, help organizations say that 119 have. An unknown number of them has been looted because the Israeli army continues to target anyone trying to guarantee a distribution of aid.
This small aid net that Israel authorizes is nothing compared to the needs of the hungry population. At least 500 trucks are required every day to cover the bare minimum.
Meanwhile, some Western governments have threatened with sanctions and have made symbolic gestures to put pressure on Israel to stop hungry. Why did they have to wait to see our children starving before doing this? And why do they not threaten and do they not take real measures?
Today, our greatest wish is to find a miche of bread. Our only concern is how to continue surviving in the middle of this catastrophic famine that broke our bones and melted our interiors. No one among us is no longer in good health. We have become skeletons. Our bodies are dead, but they always pulse with hope – aspiring this miraculous day at the end of this nightmare.
But who will act to support us? Who still has a compassion for us in their hearts?
And the most important question of all-when will the world finally stop looking at our slow and brutal death by hunger?
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.
