In some places and times, just being alive is an accomplishment for a boy. It’s even harder for him to go out every day and find food for his family to eat.
Every morning, 11-year-old Mohammed Zo’rab goes out into the southern Gaza city of Rafah to do something important.
He brings a large plastic bowl to schools and makeshift camps where people who are like his own family are suffering. He hopes to find food for the children of strangers in these places.
Mohammed also goes to hospitals where people who are hurt come at all times, and anywhere else there might be a pot cooking on a fire.
He said, “When I bring this food to my family, they are happy and we eat together. ”
“Sometimes I don’t have anything with me and it makes me feel unhappy. ”
Mohammed is the oldest of four kids and lives with his mom, dad, and brothers and sisters in a weak shelter made of plastic and tarp.
Khaled’s dad walks around Rafah to find small jobs to make five shekels (about $1. 38; £108) to buy diapers for their two-month-old daughter, Howaida.
Mohammed is one of many kids who have to find food for their families.
“I am good at moving through big crowds without causing trouble. Once, there were nearly 100 people in line in front of me, but I managed to squeeze my way through,” he explains.
At home, he gives the bowl of baked beans to his mom, Samar. She gives the food to the other kids. She looks thin and hardly eats.
“I have bone cancer,” she says. I am 31 years old, but people often think I look 60. I am unable to walk.
“When I walk, I feel really exhausted. ” “My whole body hurts and I need medical care and good food. ”
Samar and her family moved to Rafah from their home in Khan Younis because the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it would be a safe place to go. That happened three months ago.
Since then, the war has been getting closer to Rafah. Over 70 people died a little over two weeks ago when Israel attacked to free two hostages held by Hamas.
The Zo’rab family’s house is leaking and the floor is getting wet from the rain. Sometimes, baby Howaida doesn’t have new diapers.
Every day, a lot of people are living in a small area next to the Egyptian border, and they face a lot of problems.
85% of people in Gaza have had to leave their homes. The help that is being sent to Gaza is not enough to meet the needs of the people there.
The UN says we need 500 trucks of help every day. On average, it has been ninety each day.
The situation in northern Gaza is very difficult.
Israel believes that the United Nations is not giving out aid properly in the northern area. They also say that there are a lot of aid supplies that need to be picked up on the Gaza side of the border.
The organization stopped sending food to northern Gaza because it’s not safe for the truck drivers. They have been attacked by criminals and people are stealing the food.
A truck was hit by a shell from an Israeli boat, according to the UN.
Also, the police in charge in Gaza don’t want to protect food trucks anymore because they are scared of getting shot by the IDF.
“Return our people to us” .
In Israel, most people still support the military’s conduct of the war.
No one seems to agree on helping the people in Gaza more. A survey found that 68% of Jewish people don’t want to send aid to Gaza as long as Hamas is holding Israeli hostages.
On the other hand, Arab Israelis were 85% in favor of aid.
Zvika Mor, whose oldest son, Eitan, is being held captive in Gaza, talks about how much he and his family miss Eitan, who was the first to call him “Daddy. ” He also mentioned how Eitan’s absence has affected their family of seven other children.
Eitan was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival. Unfortunately, Hamas killed about 360 people at the festival. Eitan did not have a weapon to protect himself or others.
MrMor leads a small group of families of hostages who want their loved ones to be returned before talking to Hamas about anything. They don’t want the government to make a deal unless there is a ceasefire, more help for people in Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel is causing a big problem for the people in Gaza. Mor says that we want to set our people free.
“We want our people back. Before anything else, give us our people back. ”
He said it might seem harsh, but we have to think about the babies, women, and older people in Gaza.
“It’s really easy. ” If you bring us our friends, we will give you food and medicine. That’s really easy.
In Gaza, charities are giving the little food they have left to help people.
Mahmoud Al-Quishawi from the charity Pious Projects of America was near the hot pots of beans where Mohammed got food for his family.
“We work hard every day to help these people and let them know that we are here for them and will support them,” said Mr Al-Quishawi.
The charity doesn’t have any more bottled gas to cook food, so volunteers are gathering wood and making fires to cook instead.
“He says the air feels sad. ” “The situation is really bad. ”
In northern Gaza, children are getting sick and dying because they don’t have enough food. The British charity Action Aid said a doctor in northern Gaza found that many children had died.
DrHussam Abu Safiya, who is in charge of children’s health at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said that many children are not getting enough food and are getting sick with stomach problems.
Action Aid found that out of every six young children who were checked at shelters and health centers for displaced people in January, one was very malnourished.
The charity says that there has been a big drop in the amount of food people have in just three months, which is a very unusual thing all around the world.
Another doctor at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in northern Gaza said he helped a two-month-old boy named Mahmoud Fatouh, but unfortunately, the baby died shortly after reaching the hospital.
“This baby couldn’t get milk. “Amjad Aliwa said that his mother didn’t have enough food to breastfeed him.
“He was very dehydrated and was hardly breathing when he arrived. ”
In Gaza, the people are stuck because of war and hunger.