Palestinians in Gaza risk harrowing journey in search for food : NPR

Omar al-hobi, 43, of Rafah, carries a bag of food which he collected in a distribution center led by the private entrepreneur, the Gaza humanitarian foundation in the Gaza Strip of the South, when he arrived in his tent in Khan Younis, on June 10.

Abdel Kareem Hana / AP

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Abdel Kareem Hana / AP

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – Every day, the Palestinians of Gaza direct a fatal gantlet in the hope of taking food. Israeli troops open fireflies to the crowd crossing the military areas to go to help, they say, and thieves brandish knives are waiting to take an ambush to those who succeed. The Palestinians say that anarchy increases while they are forced to make a competition to feed their families.

A little lucky manages to secure certain lentil packets, a jar of nutella or a bag of flour. Many come back empty -handed and have to try the test the next day.

“It is not an aid. It is humiliation. It is death,” said Jamil Atili, his brilliant face of sweat when he returned last week from a food center led by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private entrepreneur with Israeli back. He had undergone a knife cut on his cheek in the middle of the food for food and said that an entrepreneurial goalkeeper had sprayed him in the face. However, he emerged without anything for the 13 members of his family.

“I have nothing to feed my children,” he said, crying almost. “My heart is broken.”

Israel began to authorize food in Gaza last month after having completely cut it for 10 weeks, although United Nations officials say that it is not enough to avoid famine. Most supplies go to GHF, which operates four food distribution points within Israeli military areas. An aid net goes to the UN and the humanitarian groups.

The two systems are mired in chaos. The daily shots of Israeli troops towards crowds on the roads heading towards the GHF centers have killed several hundred people and injured hundreds of others in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

At the same time, in recent weeks, hungry crowds overwhelm most of the United Nations truck convoys and eliminate supplies. Israeli troops opened fire to disperse the crowds while waiting for trucks near military areas, according to witnesses – and Tuesday, more than 50 people were killed, according to the ministry. The Israeli army says it is investigating.

“I do not see how it can get worse, because it is already apocalyptic. But in one way or another, it gets worse,” said Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian affairs office.

Israel and GHF minimize violence

Israel says that he only drew warning plans on suspects who approached his forces along the road centers in the GHF.

Palestinian witnesses say that the troops are pulling to prevent the crowd from exceeding a certain point before the opening of the centers or because people leave the road designated by the army. They describe heavy dams of tanks, elite shooters, drones and even pistols mounted on cranes.

When asked how his soldiers control the movement, the army told the Associated Press its “operational conduct … is accompanied by systematic learning process”. He said he was examining security measures such as fences and traffic signs.

GHF says that no shooting took place in or near its hubs. A spokesperson, speaking under the cover of anonymity under GHF rules, said that incidents take place before the sites are open implying assistance seekers “during prohibited moments … or trying to take a shortcut”. They said GHF was trying to improve security, partly by modifying opening times during clarity hours.

Israel intends to replace the GHF to replace the UND LED aid network in Gaza, saying that Hamas diverts large amounts of aid. The UN denies the complaint.

Ducker under fire

Thousands of people have to travel for kilometers to reach GHF centers, three of which are in the far south outside the city of Rafah. The Palestinians said that the danger begins when the crowd enters the Israeli military zone encompassing Rafah.

Mohammed Saqer, the father of three children who risked the trip several times, said that when he went last week, tanks pulled on the head of the crowd as the drone announcements told everyone to come back.

It is “as if it was” Squid Game “, said Saqer, referring to the TV series of Thriller dystopique in which competitors risk their life to earn a prize. The simple fact of raising the head could mean death, he said.

He and others crawled forward, then left the main road. A gunshot sounded nearby and they dodged, he said. They found a young man on the ground, shot in the back. The others supposed that he was dead, but Saqer felt his chest – he was still hot and he found a pulse. They transported him to a point where a car could pick him up.

Saqer said he was standing for a moment, traumatized by the scene. Then people shouted that the site had opened.

The mad race

Everyone has broken into a mad race, he said. He saw several people injured on the ground. A man, bleeding from his abdomen, stretched out, pleading to get help. No one stopped.

“Everyone runs just to go to help, to get there first,” said Saqer.

Omar al-hobi described the same scene the four times he went last week. Twice, he came back empty -handed; Once he managed to grasp a packet of lenses. On the fourth day, he was determined to secure the flour for his three children and his pregnant wife.

He said that he and others advanced under the tank shots. He saw several people pulled in the legs. A man fell bleeding on the ground, apparently dead, he said.

Horrified, al-hobi frozen, unable to move, “but I remembered that I had to feed my children.”

He covered himself in a greenhouse, then heard the announcement that the center was open and started running.

Avoid thieves

In the center, the food boxes are stacked on the ground in an area surrounded by fences and earth bermes. Thousands of people rush to grasp what they can in a frantic melee.

You have to move quickly, said Saqer. Once the supplies are exhausted, some of those who came too late fly those who leave. He quickly torn a box and loaded the contents in a bag – juice, chickpea, lentils, cheese, beans, flour and cooking oil.

Then he took off while running. There is only one route in and outside the center. But, knowing that thieves were waiting outside, Saqer climbed on a berth, flowing the risk of being fired by Israeli troops.

“It all depends on the mood of the soldiers. If they are in a bad mood … they will shoot me. Otherwise, they will let me be,” he said.

Heba Jouda said that she had seen a group of men beat a 12 or 13 year old boy and take her food when leaving one of the Rafah centers. Another time, she said, thieves attacked an older man, who embraces his bag, crying that her children had no food. They cut his arm with a knife and run away with the bag.

The finish line

Al-hobi said he had been trampled in the race for the boxes. He managed to take a bag of rice, a pack of macaroni. He hung flour – but a large part was ruined in chaos.

In his family tent outside Khan Younis, his wife, Anwaar Saleh, said she would ration everything to last about a week.

“We hope he doesn’t have to go back. His life is the most important thing,” she said.

Al -hobi remains shaken – both by his brushes with the death and the hiding that the race for food has instilled in everyone.

“No one will show you mercy these days. Everyone is handing for themselves.”