Gaza is starving this holiday season Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Winter has already arrived in the Northern Hemisphere and many places are in a festive mood. It brought more misery in Gaza. Cold weather and rain have made life more unbearable for the 1.9 million Palestinians displaced in Gaza.

It has already rained heavily several times. Each time, the displaced people’s tents were flooded, damaged or destroyed, and some of them were more or less washed away by the flood waters.

This has left many disadvantaged families even poorer. Currently, a new tent in Gaza can cost $1,000. A temporary shelter of wood and plastic needed for a cover costs hundreds of dollars. A new blanket can cost up to $100. Nobody has that much money in the camps.

Most of the displaced people escaped the bombs with the clothes on their backs. Some tried to save clothes from the rubble, but few succeeded.

As the winter season approaches, the prices of clothes have skyrocketed. Lightweight pajamas now cost $95; a coat – up to $100. A rare item, a pair of shoes can cost $75. Second-hand clothing markets have sprung up in Gaza to meet the high demand, but the prices there are also very high.

As a result, the camps are full of people shivering in the cold in thin summer clothes. Children walk barefoot in mud and puddles.

Fuel for heating that is either unaffordable or unaffordable for most families. The price of 8 kg of gas reached 72 dollars. Wood is a little less expensive, but too expensive for many.

Lack of clothing and fuel for heating increases the risk of colds, flu and other diseases that can be life-threatening in Gaza during the winter. Worn out by fear and trauma, a malnourished, sensitive body struggles with even a simple cold.

Gaza’s hospitals are almost non-functional, mainly treating people seriously injured in bombings. Lacking supplies and staff, they are unable to provide care for simpler ailments.

Diseases also spread because hygiene was almost impossible. IDPs living in tents without access to hot water cannot take a shower or even wash their hands. Now a bar of soap costs $5, and a bottle of shampoo can cost up to $23.

But now the most unbearable fact of life in Gaza is hunger. Since October, the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza has decreased significantly, and we have felt its devastating impact throughout the Strip. Famine is not only in the north. All of Gaza.

The price of the little food available is unbelievably high. Now the price of a bag of flour is more than 300 dollars. Other food products have also become more expensive. A kilo (2.2 pounds) of lentils or a kilo of rice costs $7. Vegetables are hard to find and also very expensive; 1 kg of tomatoes is $14; an onion is $2. Red meat and chicken are generally absent. We haven’t seen any in months.

Bakeries, once a lifeline for families, have closed because they can’t get supplies. Bread, the simplest and most basic of foods, has become a luxury few of us can afford. Even if a family can buy flour, it is often infested with bugs and tastes stale.

People are now forced to rely on “takaya” – charity soups – which provide just enough food for a family. These organizations open at 11:00 a.m., which results in long queues outside their distribution centers. Most families who manage to get food from them have nothing else to feed their children.

Hunger is not limited to the physical pain suffered by hungry people. It also has an unbearable psychological effect. Parents are forced to watch their children cry for food during long, cold nights. Some parents also had to watch their children starve to death. This psychological suffering cannot be compared with anything.

As I write these words, I am starving, having not eaten anything since morning. When I look around, I see pale and emaciated children and adults, exhausted from hunger and cold. I wonder how much more they can take; how much more can each of us take?

The most cruel part of this suffering is the silence of the world, which looks on from afar but does not act. As the cold bites us and hunger makes it worse, we feel isolated and abandoned, cut off from the rest of humanity. As much of the world prepares for the holiday season, we also prepare to face loneliness, despair, and death.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.