Okay, so like… what’s happening in Gaza right now is honestly beyond heartbreaking. And no, I’m not being dramatic—it’s literally a full-blown starvation crisis. Like, imagine waking up and there’s just nothing to eat. Not in your kitchen, not in the store, not anywhere. That’s what millions of people—like, actual families, moms, dads, and babies—are going through every single day in Gaza.
And it’s not just “ugh, I’m hungry” vibes. It’s like, people are boiling grass. Actual grass. Because that’s all they have left. I literally can’t.
So there is this mom in Beit Lahia—Um Salim—and what she said totally shattered me. She goes, “My children cry not because they’re hungry anymore. They cry because they know there’s nothing I can do.” Like… what do you even say to that?
According to the World Food Programme, over 90% of people in Gaza are dealing with extreme food insecurity, which is just a super-scary way of saying: there’s no food. None. The markets are empty, the fields are bombed, and the prices? Insane. Like, rice has gone up 500%. I’m not even kidding.
And bread? That’s like finding gold. People are lining up at 4 a.m. just hoping someone found enough flour to make a few loaves. One guy, Adel Faraj (he’s a teacher), said his wife mixes lentils into dough to stretch it out. Sometimes, they just go to bed with water and no food.
And don’t even get me started on babies. Dr. Hanan Agha, who’s working in southern Gaza, said, “Mothers are too weak to breastfeed. The babies are being born underweight. It’s terrifying.” Babies. Being. Born. Hungry.
Food Trucks? What Food Trucks? So like, everyone keeps saying, “Why isn’t aid getting in?” And the truth? It’s totally being blocked. Israel says it’s about security, but aid workers are like, “This is collective punishment.”
Some convoys literally wait nine days at the border. And sometimes? They get turned back or even bombed. In one case, the food finally got delivered—and two of the kids it was supposed to help had already died. I’m actually crying.
Yeah, you read that right. People are literally eating grass and boiling weeds in seawater because they don’t even have salt. Like, what century is this?! It’s 2024. And people are out here starving to death. Aid workers said people have started looting convoys—not because they’re bad people, but because they’re desperate.
One UNWRA staffer whispered (because she was scared to be named), “People are breaking into food trucks before they even enter the zone. Not out of violence. Out of pure hunger.”
The Kids Are the Ones Suffering Most. Hospitals are packed—well, the ones that haven’t been bombed. Doctors say kids are showing signs of wasting and severe malnutrition. And the worst part? Some kids are too weak to even ask for food.
Dr. Agha said something that totally wrecked me: “The worst is when a child stops asking for food. That means the body is shutting down.”
Save the Children is reporting that 1 in 4 kids under five in Gaza is now seriously malnourished. Like… how is this real life?
And now? Gaza is just… quiet. The markets? Empty. The cafés? Gone. The kitchens? Cold. And the children? They don’t play anymore. They sit. They wait. They hope someone brings food.
Um Salim told me, “I used to make maqluba on Fridays for my family. Now I just try to keep them alive.” I’m not okay after that.
Philippe Lazzarini, who runs UNRWA, said it best: “This is a slow death. Not by bombs. But by hunger.”
Unless aid gets in—like now—more people are going to die. Not from war. Not from airstrikes. Just from being forgotten. And honestly? That’s the most heartbreaking part.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
