Mother-of-three tells LBC of starvation 'hell' in designated 'safe zone' in Gaza

Suha Shaath has been living in a tent in the designated "safe area" of Al-Mawasi for the last two months, after her home in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, was destroyed earlier in the war.

As the humanitarian crisis deepens in the region, the mother-of-three says her family have been living off one meal a day for months, usually consisting of canned vegetables and rice.

"We have witnessed with our own eyes our dreams and years swept away like dust in the wind," she said.

"The food supply is just canned food - with some pasta, some rice. We have no vegetables or fruit. No fish, poultry or meat. No sugar for cups of tea.

"It is very difficult. We can only take one meal a day and if we have any bread, we have to share it between all the family members."

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Read more: Further 10 people die of malnutrition in Gaza as aid agencies warn of mass starvation

More than 100 International aid organisations and human rights groups have now warned of mass starvation in Gaza, after the Hamas-run health ministry said another two people had died of malnutrition in the last 24 hours.

These latest deaths brought the total number of malnutrition-related fatalities to 113 since October 7, 2023.

The territory's health ministry also said at least 67 people waiting for UN aid lorries in northern Gaza last Saturday were killed by the Israeli military.

Ms Shaath, who works in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, said she was avoiding using the aid distribution points because of the "risk of being shot by Israeli soldiers".

She also refuses to let her sons - Ameer (19) and Amad (16) - collect aid due to the "violence" often seen in these areas.

"Parents are having to choose whether to feed themselves or their children. Which one would you choose? Either you die from hunger or from the bullets from IDF," she said.

"I cannot get any food from this delivery point because I am afraid for my sons. They are not suitable for this action. To go and get food you have to be prepared for violence and I don’t want to send my children to that.

"Many youths and men are killed by the fire of whom is working there. Many of the people who reach Nasser complex [hospital] were living at tents at Al-Mawasi who tried to get aid.

“The area [Al-Mawasi] is meant to be safe, but currently nowhere Is no safe currently in Gaza."

Ms Shaath, who also has a 10-year-old girl called Tolay, has been displaced multiple times with her family since the war began.

She says she has lost 10kg in the last two years and feels there is no escape from "this hell... except through death".

She added: "I think all Gazans now have lost their desire. Mixed emotions of pain, horror, sorrow, betrayal and a complete loss of life.

"Nothing can ever make up for what we have endured. Gaza is a piece of hell with no escape – except through death."

Her words come as BBC News and three other top news agencies expressed their concern for journalists in Gaza, claiming reporters face starvation and "the same dire circumstances as those they are covering".

Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children and Oxfam also said their colleagues and the people they serve were "wasting away".

Israel says 150 food trucks were collected by the UN and other agencies inside Gaza on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied targeting civilians queueing for aid and said it "fired warning shots" on Saturday in northern Gaza to remove "an immediate threat".

It also disputed the number of reported deaths.

Cogat - a branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that deals with logistical coordination between Israel and the Gaza Strip - also announced that 70 food trucks were unloaded at aid crossings that day.

It added that another 800 food trucks were waiting to be picked up, but the UN and other aid organisations blamed the Israeli government for obstructing aid distribution.

The UN humanitarian agency Ocha warned earlier this week that the amount of aid reaching Gaza is “a trickle” compared to what is urgently needed.

Danny Danon, with the Israeli ambassador to the UN, accused Ocha of bias and claimed there was "clear evidence of Hamas affiliations within Ocha’s ranks".

Israel launched its attacks in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken hostage.

The IDF's attacks have since killed more than 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

These figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.