In Gaza’s Emaciated Children, a Hunger Crisis Is Laid Bare : Vivian Yee / The New York Times

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Summary

Vivian Yee’s harrowing account documents the unfolding famine in Gaza, seen most starkly in the visible emaciation of children like 6-year-old Najwa Hajjaj, who lost 42% of her body weight in two months. Following an 80-day total Israeli blockade that cut off food, fuel, and medicine, only a trickle of aid has been allowed in, nowhere near sufficient to meet Gaza’s massive needs.

The situation is especially dire in northern Gaza, isolated by Israeli military operations, where hundreds of thousands rely on overburdened charity kitchens and unsafe water sources. Electricity, clean water, cooking fuel, and basic foodstuffs are largely unavailable. Families now burn trash to cook soup and grind pasta or spoiled lentils into flour. Market shelves are bare, and the little produce available costs far beyond what most can afford.

Roughly 90% of Gaza’s 2 million people are now displaced, often multiple times. Aid kitchens, once a last resort, are shutting down due to lack of supplies. The article presents a raw portrait of a society nearing collapse, with starvation, displacement, and infrastructure breakdown compounding each other in a relentless humanitarian disaster.

Quotes
“The starvation of Gaza can be measured in the jutting ribs of a 6-year-old girl.”
“Najwa Hussein Hajjaj, 6, has lost 42 percent of her body weight in the last two months.”

“People dig for whatever water they can find. Then... they lug it away... an ever harder task for people weakened by malnutrition.”
“What few fruits and vegetables are available are far too expensive for most families.”
“About 90 percent of Gaza’s population... has been displaced from home.”