RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza- Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians and displaced hundreds of thousands since October 7, 2023. When the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel and came into effect on January 19, 2025, people started returning to their homes and setting up tents on the rubble of their homes destroyed in Israel’s attacks. However, the Israeli army resumed its attacks on March 18, 2025, targeting civilian buildings and infrastructure, including power and water facilities, imposing an aid blockade on the Gaza Strip for three months.

 Israel’s blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip puts the lives of thousands at risk. In recent week, Israeli forces have opened fire on civilians waiting to get food at aid distribution sites in the enclave, killing and injuring many Palestinians.

The stories of Jihan Abdel Salam and Nisreen Siam, who risk their lives to get food for their families, tell the challenges faced by women struggling to get food every day.

‘I try to keep my children busy’

“There is nothing for the children to eat,” said Jihan Abdel Salam, who looks after her five children alone. “UNRWA used to distribute a bag of flour every month; however, we only get only a kilogram of flour, which is insufficient for one meal. I try to keep my children busy because we have nothing to eat. However, the weak bodies of my children cannot stand hunger in the evening.”

 She goes to aid distribution site near border crossing despite attacks

When Jihan Abdel Salan went to Rafah Border Crossing to get food for her children from an aid distribution site, Israeli forces opened fire on them. “Dozens were killed while I was injured. I stayed there that night. Israeli soldiers did not allow us to stand up by opening fire from tanks. After crawling for hours, I reached a medical center and fainted. When I regained consciousness, I returned to the area but found it completely empty of aid.”

Jihan Abdel Salam did not give up; when she heard the arrival of aid trucks near Al-Nabulsi roundabout, she went there to get food for her children. Despite the ongoing Israel’s attacks, she risks her life to “get food for my children.”

Jihan Abdel Salam is one of the Palestinian women struggling to get food for their children.

Nisreen Siam, who has only a hammer and stones. She collects and breaks stones to build a bake. She earns only about $7 each day. “This amount is insufficient to buy two loaves of bread in Gaza, but I keep working to keep my children alive.”

Her husband was killed in an Israel’s attack and she was injured while waiting for food. “Look at my hands; they full of wounds and cracks. Nisreen Siam also support the children of her brother-in-law, who was also killed in an Israel’s attack. “I have to work for my children and the children of my brother-in-law. Every day, I carry water, wash clothes and knead the flour. At night I cannot sleep due to severe pain in my body.”

Nisreen Siam struggles to survive for her children despite all the challenges.