CNN
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The young girl sits on the dusty floor, clutching her father’s shoes near her chest, screaming in anger. Bisan Qwaider is not available. Her father was just killed while trying to get food for her and her 10 hungry siblings.
Photojournalist Khaled Sha’ath, who captured Qwaider’s sadness scene on Sunday, told CNN that Bisan’s father Shadi had left his family tent in Mawassi in southern Gaza a few days ago for Maan, just east of Khan Younis.
Shadi knew that travelling to the area was dangerous. Maan was under Israeli evacuation orders for a while and was bombarded by Israeli artillery. But despite the risks, his children were hungry and he believed he could get food there for them.
Gaza is facing a crisis of hunger. A non-supporting report issued in late April warned that one in five people in Gaza faces starvation and that the entire enclave is approaching hunger. The situation has since got worse, according to the United Nations.
Sha’ath said Qwaider was killed in an airstrike and his body was pulled out of the tile rub on Sunday. He is one of hundreds of people who have died in recent weeks while trying to find food in Gaza, according to Gaza Health Authority.
CNN asked the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) about the situation in Maan. The IDF responded by sending a map of Gaza to CNN, which includes a “dangerous combat zone” that includes Ma’an.
In late May, Israel partially lifted the 11-week total lockdown in Gaza, but humanitarian organisations say the aid currently in place is only a small part of what is needed.
“Without immediate and large-scale access to the fundamental means of survival, we risk hunger, further disruption and the descent to loss of more lives,” said UN Humanitarian Chief of Fletcher last week.
Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe has sparked rage around the world, and recently even some of Israel’s closest allies have spoken out.
Last month, France, the UK and Canada criticized Israel and issued rare statements that threatened “specific measures” if the situation in Gaza does not improve. The UK approved trade negotiations with Israel and West Bank settlers last month, and said the European Union would consider a major cooperation agreement with Israel.
But as tensions continue to escalate between Israel and Iran, the people of Gaza are now worried that even limited pressure on Israel for their suffering will soon evaporate.
“The war between Israel and Iran has made people forget about us completely. No one sees us. There is no food or water. Every day people try to get food and help and are carried in body bags.”
Another Gazan, Um Mustafa, told CNN that the growing conflict between Iran and Israel means their suffering has faded from the international news agenda.
“Even though the Gaza Strip was wiped out from the map, all (focus) has shifted to the Israeli war,” Mustafa said.
“While there are voices in solidarity with Gaza and calling for humanitarian assistance, the Israeli-Iran war means that no one will provide food and water in Gaza,” Abu Jumaa, who lives in Gaza, told CNN.
Health officials say that more than 55,300 people have been killed and more than 128,700 have been injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The numbers are incredible. The death toll represents about 2.5% of Gaza’s total population. This means that out of the 40 Palestinians living in pre-war Gaza, one is dead.
A peer-reviewed study published earlier this year in the Lancet Journal states that the number of people killed in Gaza is significantly higher than figures reported by enclave authorities. CNN cannot independently test these claims, and since October 7, Israel has banned international journalists from traveling to Gaza independently.
And the fatal hunger crisis is getting worse. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that people are struggling to access basic goods due to Israel’s restrictions on what is brought into the territory.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an initiative to aid in the US and Israel, — a controversial organization established amid accusations that Hamas is stealing Gaza aid and stealing sales — is struggling to meet the task.
The organization has been criticized by several international aid agencies as not for purpose.
At least 300 people have been killed since the GHF opened distribution points in late May in an area surrounded by aggressive combat zones, according to health officials in Gaza.
The UN Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) Coordination Office last week said that Israeli authorities only allow certain UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Other aid supplies such as shelter materials, sanitary products and medical devices are still blocked by Israel, according to OCHA.
“People can’t find anything to eat or drink. The prices of flour bags are 300-500 times more expensive than before. We feel that the world has forgotten us,” another Gaza resident Abu Mohamed told CNN.
For the young Byzant Qwaider, the only thing she could hug from her father was his shoes.
When she cried out for her father, she looked at the sky and shouted a message to those who believed he was responsible for his death. “May God holds you accountable,” she said.