Palestinians struggle to feed their families as Israel has blocked food from Gaza for nearly 60 days

For nearly 60 days, no food, fuel, medicine or other item has entered the Gaza Strip, blocked by Israel. Aid groups are running out of food to distribute and markets are nearly bare. Palestinian families are left struggling to feed their children.

In the sprawling tent camp outside the southern city of Khan Younis, Mariam al-Najjar and her mother-in-law emptied four cans of peas and carrots into a pot and boiled it over a wood fire. They added a little bouillon and spices.

That, with a plate of rice, was the sole meal on Friday for the 11 members of their family, including six children.

Among Palestinians, “Fridays are sacred,” a day for large family meals of meat, stuffed vegetables or other rich traditional dishes, al-Najjar said.

Palestinian children wait to receive donated food at a distribution center in Muwasi, on the outskirts of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP

“Now we eat peas and rice,” she said. “We never ate canned peas before the war. Only in this war that has destroyed our lives,” she said.

The around 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza are now mainly living off canned vegetables, rice, pasta and lentils. Meat, milk, cheese and fruit have disappeared. Bread and eggs are scarce. The few vegetables or other items in the market have skyrocketed in price, unaffordable for most.

“We can’t get anything that provides any protein or nutrients,” al-Najjar said.

Israel imposed the blockade on March 2, then shattered a two-month ceasefire by resuming military operations on March 18. It said both steps aim to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages. Rights groups call the blockade a “starvation tactic” endangering the entire population and a potential war crime.

Malnutrition hitting children

Doctors warn that the lack of variety, protein and other nutrients in children’s diet will cause long-term damage to their health.

Dr. Ayman Abu Teir, head of the Therapeutic Feeding department at Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, said the number of malnutrition cases has “increased in a very substantial way.” Specialised milk for them has run out, he said. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80 per cent from February.

“Children need the food pyramid for their development,” Abu Teir said, meat, eggs, fish and dairy for their growth, fruits and vegetables to build their immune systems. “These do not exist in Gaza,” he said.

He said a one-year-old child weighing 10 kilograms (22 pounds) needs about 700 calories a day.

Israel has previously said Gaza had enough aid after a surge in distribution during the ceasefire, and it accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the U.N. strictly monitors distribution.

Farmland destroyed by Israeli troops

On a recent day in a Khan Younis street market, most stalls were empty. Those open displayed small piles of tomatoes, cucumbers, shrivelled eggplants and onions. One had a few dented cans of beans and peas. At one of the few working grocery stores, the shelves were bare except for one with bags of pasta.

Tomatoes sell for 50 shekels a kilo, almost $14, compared to less than a dollar before the war.

“I dream of eating a tomato,” said Khalil al-Faqawi, standing in front of the empty stalls.

The only vegetables are those grown in Gaza. Israeli troops have destroyed the vast majority of the territory’s farmland and greenhouses or closed them off within military zones where anyone approaching risks being shot.

The remaining farms’ production has fallen for lack of water and supplies.

Mahmoud al-Shaer said his greenhouses yield at most 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of tomatoes a week compared to 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) before the war.

Even that can’t be sustained, he said. “In two weeks or a month, you won’t find any at all.” Israel has levelled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Almost the entire population has been driven from their homes. Hundreds of thousands live in tent camps.

In the October 7 attack, militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.

Charity kitchens are running out of food

In Khan Younis, children mobbed the Rafah Charity Kitchen, holding out metal pots. Workers ladled boiled lentils into each one.

Such kitchens are the only alternative to the market. Other food programs shut down under the blockade.

The kitchens also face closure. The World Food Program said Friday it delivered its last food stocks to the 47 kitchens it supports — the biggest in Gaza — which it said will run out of meals to serve within days.

Kitchens can provide only lentils or plain pasta and rice. Hani Abu Qasim, at the Rafah Charity Kitchen, said they have reduced portion size as well.

“These people who depend on us are threatened with starvation if this kitchen closes,” Abu Qasim said.