Palestinian families struggle to secure single daily meal: Unicef

James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “bleak, horrific and hopeless”.

He said Palestinian families are struggling to secure even a single meal a day for their children, as Israeli attacks far outweigh the aid deliveries entering the strip.

 “There was a momentary uptick in aid and slight improvements in water and food supplies… But that optimism has quickly dissolved in the face of a catastrophic blockade on humanitarian relief,” Elder told Anadolu Agency, during an official mission from the southern city of Khan Younis.

“Every known limit of human endurance has been shattered,” he said. “Mothers go without food for days just to provide a single meal for their children.” 

Speaking about the absence of Eid celebrations in Gaza, he said: “Instead of joy, families gather in silence to remember those they’ve lost, surrounded by an overwhelming sense of grief and abandonment,” he added. “There are no homes, no shelters - just loss. People spent their lives building homes and gardens, and now everything has disappeared.”

He also warned that malnourished children are dying from otherwise treatable illnesses.

“Severe malnutrition makes a child 10 times more likely to die from something minor. This is the deadly cycle: hunger, dirty water, and lack of basic healthcare,” he said.