People in northern Gaza rely on bread alone to survive.

Locals say food sold in the market is "exorbitantly" priced: a kilo of green chillies, which cost about $1 before the conflict, now cost nearly $90. A kilo of onions is also $70.

Um Mohammed, a mother of six in Gaza City, said: "We are starving, the world has forgotten us. Except for flour, bread, we have nothing else, nothing to eat so we just eat bread."

Palestinians carry aid being unloaded from a truck in Gaza City. Photo: Reuters

Palestinian officials and international aid workers said in late May the Israeli military lifted a ban on the sale of fresh food to Gaza from Israel and the occupied West Bank.

But in social media posts, Gazans accuse unscrupulous traders of taking advantage of the surge in demand by buying goods at regular prices in Israel and the West Bank and selling them at inflated prices. The traders are exploiting lax policing in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

“There is no meat or vegetables and if there is anything available, it is sold at unbelievable, fictitious prices,” said Um Mohammed.

The flow of UN aid to Gaza has been severely restricted since Israel began military operations in the southern city of Rafah, a key gateway to Egypt. Israel is under increasing global pressure to ease the crisis as humanitarian agencies warn of famine.

Israel says it has placed no limits on humanitarian supplies for civilians in Gaza and has blamed the United Nations for slow deliveries, saying its operations are ineffective.

On June 14, witnesses said planes dropped aid boxes in the areas of Al-Karara and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

"A significant proportion of Gaza's population is now facing catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on June 12.

More than 8,000 children under five years old in Gaza have been diagnosed and treated for acute malnutrition, including 1,600 children with severe acute malnutrition, said Mr. Tedros.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Authority said on June 14 that 27 children have died of malnutrition in the enclave since the war began last October. “A humanitarian tragedy is hitting northern Gaza and the specter of famine is looming everywhere,” the agency said.

On the same day, the Gaza Chamber of Commerce issued an urgent appeal to the international community to put pressure on Israel to allow the import of urgently needed aid.

"In addition to food, water and medicine shortages, the northern Gaza Strip is severely lacking in many basic necessities of life, including public and personal hygiene materials. Due to the lack of fuel, electricity and health care services, hospitals are no longer functioning and all public and private facilities have been completely destroyed," the agency said in a statement.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/gia-thuc-pham-cao-cat-co-nguoi-dan-gaza-chi-con-banh-mi-de-song-qua-ngay-post299399.html