Every day, Ibtisam Ghalia and her four children figure out the remaining food. These are very few: about a kilogram of beans, a bag of lentils, small salt, some herbs, spices and flour, flour, six loaves of wooden debris cooked on the grill, waste plastic and on the stove on the cardboard.
Two months since Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, stopping food, medicine, fuel and anything else entering destructive territory, Gallia's “cabinets” have gradually decreased.
There were better days, Ghalia received cash distributions from a non-governmental organization (NGO) and was able to buy fresh vegetables or fruits on the market, or a relative or friend gave a kilogram of flour.
However, with the lockdown, prices steadily rising, and basic food became scarce. Now, the cost of one dollar per kilogram of sugar is 20 times. A bag of old, poor quality flour costs a much higher cost than Ghalia can call. A few weeks ago, bakeries by the World Food Program closed their flour or fuel. The remaining supply of the kitchen, which distributes nearly 1 million meals a day, is limited. The UN warehouse is empty. The family has not eaten meat or dairy for months.
“Since the intersections closed, we are stretching out as much food as possible…we are now only eating a meal or two a day. I divide the bread into my kids just to curb their hunger. I try to eat less, so it's enough for them,” Ghalia said.
Since the ceasefire went out six weeks ago, the sound of air strikes and shelling has been clearly heard every day in small tent camps in farmland near the damaged Beit Lahia.
This scared her. In December 2023, her husband Hamza was killed while searching for food in the ruins of their former houses with his uncle and cousin during an Israeli drone strike.
“When I found them, I didn't scream or collapse. I thank God, I was able to find and bury them. The hospital refused to receive or shrouds, saying they were already breaking down, there were no burial shrouds. So we wrapped them on blankets, buried them on blankets, and buried them in themselves,” Ghalia, 32, remembers.
“My kids cry every day, asking to see their father. [now 10 and nine] Keep crying, wanting to see him again. I kept comforting them and saying we would be reunited with Him in heaven. ”
Last week, Ghalia's sister was hit by a wandering bullet while cooking next to her tent.
Her eldest son, Hossam, 10 years old, would travel to the surrounding wastelands to look for firewood. Without other fuel, no cooking gas available, the supply of benzene is so low that two-thirds of the remaining abused ambulances in Gaza have been fixed, and only one-third of the generators on the territory are operating.
“If he's a little late to come back, I'm panicked. I can't lose my son like my husband. But we have to cook somehow, so I have to send him down. He's only 10 years old, but like an adult, now with all the duties and worries.”
Her daughter Jinan, now 9, had nightmares about explosions and scattered body parts.
She said: “I miss my old life so much. I miss my dad-his voice and his smell. He used to take us to kebabs on weekends. Now, there is nothing to buy in the market. We get water from nearby schools or waterwheels coming to camp.
“I miss going to school very much. My mother told me that when I grow up, I will be a teacher because I love studying and hope I succeed…I worry about losing one of my siblings now. I have nightmares and seeing people killed and a lot of blood.”
In a report last week, about 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition in children have been found across Gaza since early 2025, including 1,600 severe acute malnutrition cases.
Amjad Shawa, director of the network of Palestinian NGOs in Gaza, said the humanitarian system in the territory is collapsing.
“We only have a few days left to supply. It's worse every day than before,” Shawa said.
Israeli officials defended Gaza's lockdown, claiming that Hamas often steals aid, distributes it to fighter jets or sells it to raise vital funds. Aid officials in Gaza have denied any widespread theft in recent months, although saying robberies are increasing because of hostilities “due to the desperate humanitarian situation.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by an Israeli raid launched by Hamas in October 2023, in which militants killed more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and captured 250 hostages. Israeli officials said the purpose of the lockdown was to put pressure on Hamas to release Hamas the 59 hostages left in Gaza, more than half of which were considered dead.
According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, between April 22 and 30, 437 Palestinians were killed and 1,023 were injured. In total, 52,400 Palestinians were killed in the war, including more than 2,300 since Israel resumed its offensive in mid-March after the second phase of the fragile ceasefire that took effect in January.
“We just want to live safely. We want fear to end, wars to stop, life to be back in time. We want our house to come back.” On Friday, her flour will run out, leaving only beans and lentils.
