As a survivor of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, it breaks me to watch my people struggle to find something to fill their stomachs.

Israel’s deliberate policy of starvation continues to tighten its grip on the enclave. Humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm, warning that Gaza is on the verge of full-scale famine.

Since Israel shattered the ceasefire on March 18 and sealed its blockade, 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza have been cut off from essential food and aid. As the World Food Programme and UNRWA have recently announced that their stocks of flour and food are depleted, the risk of widespread starvation grows with each passing day.

I lived through the first wave of starvation in Gaza in the early months of 2024, a time when Israeli-imposed aid restrictions drove hunger to catastrophic levels. Everyone across the Strip experienced severe food shortages, with empty plates becoming a daily scene. I was forced to leave Gaza alone in February 2024 and flee to Egypt, after nearly five months of relentless bombardment and siege. At the height of the famine, I lost 16 kilograms.

Since then, I have devoted myself to fighting against Israeli propaganda, narratives that distort the truth, downplay Palestinian suffering, and mock the agony Gazans endure.

While I investigate Israeli disinformation, I carry the emotional weight of seeing the pain of my family still trapped in Gaza. Like nearly every household there, my family is running out of food and flour. Each video call painfully reveals their shrinking bodies, thinned by hunger.

A study conducted in late December 2024 found that the average person in Gaza has lost around 18 kilograms due to severe food insecurity during the war. The situation has only worsened since.

Israel’s Weaponization of Famine

The Israeli blockade that began on March 2 has driven food prices beyond reach. My father told me last week that a 25-kilogram bag of flour now costs around 200 U.S. dollars. This week, the price has climbed to $470.

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