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As Israeli-induced forced starvation tightens its grip connected Gaza’s full population, an expanding fig of Palestinian families are frantically searching for quality of relatives who undertook perilous journeys to get nutrient from assistance distributions points, ne'er to return.
Khaled Obaid has been searching for his beloved son, Ahmed, for 2 months, scanning each passing conveyance connected the coastal roadworthy successful Deir-el-Balah, hoping against each likelihood that 1 of them mightiness bring him home.
The lad had near the displaced family’s structure successful the cardinal municipality connected a ngo to find nutrient for his parents and his sister, who mislaid her hubby during the war, heading to the Zikim crossing constituent for assistance trucks entering bluish Gaza.
“He hasn’t returned until now. He went due to the fact that helium was hungry. We person thing to eat,” the distraught begetter told Al Jazeera, helium and his woman breaking down successful tears nether the sheets of bluish tarpaulin wherever they are sheltering.
Khaled reported his son’s disappearance to the International Committee of the Red Cross and each authoritative assemblage helium could scope – to vigor silence. To this day, helium has received nary answers connected the whereabouts of his son.
Khaled’s communicative is each excessively communal nether Israel’s ongoing punishing blockade of Gaza, wherever the mostly displaced colonisation faces a stark prime betwixt starvation oregon braving bullets fired by Israeli soldiers and United States information contractors successful a bid to find nutrient from US- and Israel-backed GHF sites dubbed “death traps” and “human slaughterhouses” by the United Nations and rights groups.
It is simply a life-or-death gamble that has taking the lives of astir 1400 people, gunned down chiefly by the Israeli army, astatine the assistance sites since they started operations successful precocious May, according to figures released by the UN this week. That is without counting the untold numbers of missing assistance seekers – radical similar Ahmed.
Human rights monitors person been collecting harrowing first-hand accounts of individuals who person gone missing successful Gaza, lone to beryllium recovered later, killed by Israeli forces.
“In galore cases, those who went missing are seemingly killed adjacent the assistance organisation points, but owed to the Israeli targeting, their bodies remained unreachable,” Maha Hussaini, Head of Media astatine Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, told Al Jazeera.
“Many Palestinians near location with bare hands, hoping to instrumentality with a container of flour. But galore ne'er came back,” said Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir-el-Balah. “In Gaza, the enactment betwixt endurance and disappearance is present heartbreakingly thin.”
As the numbers of missing assistance seekers mounts, famine stalks the enclave, with implicit 80 adults reportedly dying of starvation implicit the past 5 weeks unsocial and 93 children succumbing to man-made malnutrition since the warfare began.
Authorities successful Gaza accidental an mean of 84 trucks person entered the besieged enclave a time since Israel eased restrictions connected July 27. But assistance organisations accidental astatine slightest 600 assistance trucks are needed per time to conscionable the territory’s basal needs.
‘Death circle’
On Monday, amid increasing planetary condemnation implicit wide starvation wide seen arsenic deliberately engineered by Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to treble down connected his warfare goals.
Netanyahu announced that helium would convene a gathering of his furniture Tuesday to guarantee “Gaza volition nary longer airs a menace to Israel”. Israel’s Channel 12 cited an authoritative arsenic saying that Netanyahu was tending towards expanding the offensive.
The announcement came connected different bloody time successful the Strip, with astatine slightest 74 Palestinians killed successful Israeli attacks since dawn connected Monday, including 36 assistance seekers, according to aesculapian sources.
Among the attacks, astatine slightest 3 were killed by an Israeli onslaught connected a location successful Deir-el-Balah, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
A root astatine al-Ahli Hospital successful Gaza City reported that 7 radical were killed successful Israeli shelling connected aggregate areas successful the Shujayea neighbourhood, eastbound of Gaza City.
Emergency services said that 2 were killed successful an Israeli bombing of Beit Lahiya, successful bluish Gaza.
It besides emerged connected Monday that a caregiver astatine Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital successful Deir el-Balah was killed erstwhile helium was deed by an airdropped container of aid.
This week, UNRWA main Philippe Lazzarini described the unsafe airdrops arsenic a “distraction” and a smokescreen.
On Monday, UNICEF warned that 28 children – fundamentally an full “classroom” – are dying a time from Israeli bombardment and deficiency of aid.
“Gaza’s children request food, water, medicine and protection. More than anything, they request a ceasefire, NOW,” said the UN bureau connected X.
Death by bombardments.
Death by malnutrition and starvation.
Death by deficiency of assistance and captious services.
In Gaza, an mean of 28 children a time - the size of a schoolroom - person been killed.
Gaza's children request food, water, medicine and protection. More than anything, they request a… pic.twitter.com/7QIQQ6IAoG
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 4, 2025
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called connected the UN Security Council to “assume its responsibilities” by enforcing an contiguous ceasefire successful Gaza, conducting an authoritative sojourn to the territory and implementing calls astatine a caller UN league successful New York for a two-state solution.
In a connection posted connected societal media connected Monday, the ministry warned that much than 2 cardinal Palestinians successful Gaza are “living successful a choky decease ellipse of killing, starvation, thirst, and deprivation of medicine, treatment, and each basal quality rights”.
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