One meal a day: UN warns of 'severe hunger' in Gaza

In a makeshift tent in a Gaza refugee camp, Yasmin Eid stirs a small pot of lentils, preparing what will likely be the only meal for her family that day.

Alongside her husband and four daughters, Eid struggles to survive in central Gaza, having been displaced five times from their original home in Jabaliya.

The family now lives in an area where aid groups have relatively more access than in the north, which has been isolated and heavily devastated since Israel began waging an offensive against Hamas.

However, the plight of hunger spares few in Gaza, with experts warning that a full-blown famine may be underway in the north.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, accusing them of using “starvation as a method of warfare” — charges Israel adamantly denies.

In Deir al-Balah, the Eids family is among hundreds of thousands sheltering in squalid tent camps.

The local bakeries were shut down for five days this week. By Wednesday, the cost of a single bag of bread soared past €12.50, as supplies of bread and flour disappeared from shelves before more supplies arrived.

The United Nations humanitarian office warned of a “stark increase” in the number of households experiencing severe hunger in central and southern Gaza.

It's believed to be linked to the robbery at gunpoint last weekend, in which nearly 100 aid trucks were looted near Israeli military positions in southern Gaza. Israel blamed Hamas but appears to have taken no action to stop the looting, while Hamas said it was the work of local bandits.

For the Eids, hunger is the daily routine. For months, Yasmin and her family have gone to bed hungry.

"Prices have skyrocketed, and we cannot afford anything," she said.

She misses coffee, but a single sachet of Nescafé now costs around €1.25 A kilogram of onions goes for €10, and a medium bottle of cooking oil for €14.50 — if available.

Meat and chicken disappeared from the shelves months ago, but there are still some local vegetables.

Israel claims there are no restrictions on the amount of aid entering Gaza and accuses UN agencies of failing to retrieve it, pointing to hundreds of truckloads stalled on the Gaza side of the border.

But the military's own figures show a sharp decline in aid entering the region, with only around 1,800 trucks arriving in October, down from over 4,200 the month before.

At the current rate, around 2,400 trucks are expected to enter Gaza in November, a massive drop from the pre-war average of around 500 trucks per day.