This is the testament of a small place called Gaza Strip in Palestine and it's citizens' unvanquished perseverance in the face of death and their indomitable resilience carrying the endless agonies of survival.

"I am Omar al - Jmasy. I owe one shekel to a boy named Abdul Karim Al - Naireb. Abdul Karim lives on Abu Nafid Street.

I love you, my dear ones, and I hope that you will not abandon praying, reading the Qur'an and seeking forgiveness."

"Please don't cry for me, because I feel tortured when I see you cry.

I hope my clothes will be given to those in need.

My accessories should be shared between Rahaf, Sara, Judy, Lana and Batool.

My bead kits should go to Ahmad and Rahaf.

As for my monthly allowance of 50 Shekels, I want half to go to Rahaf and other half to Ahmad.

My stories and notebooks to Rahaf.

I'd like Batool to have my toys.

Lastly, please do not yell at my brother Ahmad.

Please follow these wishes."

The above two wills seemed to be ordinary documents of two persons in which they had declared their last wishes to hand over their few mundane belongings to some of their loved ones. But in these cases these two wills were not to be taken as any ordinary documents telling the tales of ordinary people's lives.

The Al Jazeera television channel had reported, the first will was written by Omar Al - Jmasy at the age of 15 years. He was killed in March, 2025 in an Israeli airstrike that had violated the ceasefire. Here the thing to notice was the strange calmness and submission with which the 15 year old Omar had written his will, as if he knew about his on - rushing death. The fashion of his writing justified his approach towards a spiritual salvation from the bondage of life. As if he were freeing himself from all his material responsibilities, even if that happened to be a debt of one shekel! This kind of mentality was totally unexpected of a minor, whose life had not even started properly. It would not be possible for any language of this planet to describe the things that were going on inside Omar's mind while he was writing the will.

The other will, according to Al Jazeera report, was written by the 10 year old Rasha Al Areer who died in 2024 in a hellfire that had engulfed the entire Gaza strip. It was extremely hard to fathom the maturity level of a 10 year old girl who standing in the face of death could execute a matured task like preparing a will and showed her love and empathy for her little brother, (Nobody is to shout at her brother, Ahmad). The point to lament was, under normal circumstances this task of preparing will should have come at the end of those two children's lives where after living life in full, as the aged persons they would hand over their earthly belongings to their successors. Instead, the untimely task that those two children had executed before departing life so pathetically, showed how they were deprived of their fundamental rights to live their lives ! Another extremely vital point had become clear here. Normally, the preparation of a will happened to be an act of volition. But in those two cases, clearly the two children, after realising that their end was nearer, were compelled to write those wills under mental pressure. Since October, 2023, Israel had killed almost 18000 Palestinian children only in Gaza, in it's so called, "limited ground operation". On an average a child died every forty five minutes.

Surgery goes on without anesthesia!

In an uncared moment, some boiling tea fell on one of her feet and burnt that area. But she didn't get the required treatment for that. As a result the wound didn't heal. In time, that wound had deteriorated into an infection that needed a cosmetic surgery. But the affected person, a female student of cyber security engineering didn't know where she would receive that much needed treatment to save her foot. She also had no idea, from where she would get the money to support her surgery.

The economy had gone down to the bottom. No job, the banking service was almost closed. On the other side the food prices were escalating rapidly day by day. Many people from foreign countries were getting in touch with the inmates of Gaza and sending financial aid. But the recipients were facing obstacles in withdrawing that money from banks. Because they were being pressurised to withdraw those money through some touts, who were demanding hefty amount of commission from each withdrawal.

The young lady, Aya Zaid had taken shelter with her entire family in a refugee camp just to save her life. Recently she had got the permission to return to their home. After walking 10 kilometers and crossing an entire ruined city, Aya and her family had returned to their home. Although the family had saved themselves from the deadly missiles, one major portion of their house had been destroyed completely. While searching for the valuable things in that debris, Aya Zaid was thinking, how she was going to fend for her family from then on. The last semester student of cyber security engineering, Aya Zaid had planned to join a high paying job after finishing the course. But the war had destroyed all her plans. Her study had come to a close. Her life has now come to a point where Aya thought how she was going to survive. A major portion of Gaza was under Israeli occupation. In their relentless pursuit to destroy Hamas once and for all, Israel could occupy other portions of Gaza anytime. Aya said Rafa and Jabalia were two worst affected places in Gaza. Aya happened to be a resident of Jabalia. In her words, "Wherever I look, I see only destructions. Not a single house was intact. Law and LLP order has collapsed in those areas." Several days ago, in a meeting with Benjamin 0 Donald Trump had told him at the White House that he wanted this war to come to an end. Aya believed, if America wanted, they could have stopped this war, "if stopping the war is the objective, steps will have to be taken accordingly. Holding a press conference won't do any good."

Several hospitals in Gaza had been demolished to the ground by the Israeli bombing. The entire health system had collapsed, in a way. Aya said, "There is a scarcity of emergency drugs and pain killers. When someone gets wounded, the person has to endure the pain helplessly. On many occasions, surgeries are going on without anesthesia." The Israeli authority had complained several times, that the Hamas guerrillas were using the Gaza hospitals as their shelters. Although Aya didn't want to accept this logic. She said, "The wounded were and still are being treated at the hospitals. In many cases, at the time of bombing people take shelter at the hospitals. Without any evidence Israel claims that the hospitals are connected with Hamas through tunnels. This claim is not true."

Is it a crime to be born in Gaza?

In this war - torn situation, few camps had been established in various places of Gaza. The families that had taken shelter in those camps were in the worst possible conditions. Aya Zaid said, "In a relief camp, one bathroom is sanctioned for few families." There was absolutely no privacy. Moreover, owing to the scarcity of proper drainage system and sufficient water supply, the living conditions of those camps were deteriorating day by day. Women especially, were suffering at the worst level. Many women were developing gynecological infections in those unhygienic bathroom conditions. Practically the entire Gaza had turned into a ruined city. Heaps of dusts had covered everything. Added to the drudgeries of the people, the supply of two essential commodities like soap and shampoo had been stopped. Aya said, the most problematic became collecting the daily food. Owing to the strict checking at the check posts throughout the Gaza border, the required supplies of food and water were being rationed. "As of now, we are fully dependent on tinned food and limited stocks of flour. Sometimes even these are becoming scarce. Valuable tonnes of foods are rotting at the check posts, because the trucks carrying them are being impounded for days. And here we are crying for food and water," said Aya. Some opportunists had started looting, taking advantage of the situation. "There is nothing called law and order in the city. Some powerful solvent families have become like mafias. They are roaming all over the town with arms and looting," said Aya.

Hamas complained, innocent children were being killed, so that the future generations of Hamas supporters and activists could not exist. Aya Zaid was also supporting this complain. "The children were innocent. Was it their crime that they were born in Gaza?" Journalists were also falling victims of this war in Gaza. Aya said, the attacks on journalists were also intentional, "presenting the current situation of Gaza in front of the world is, according to some people, a crime. The punishment for which is death." Then the next question was, what was the fault of those unarmed Israelites, killed by Hamas on 7 October, 2023? Aya answered swiftly, "the raid on 7 October was a crime - this was true. But that was not the beginning of the conflict between the two nations. On the contrary, that was the answer to the oppressions on Palestinians, going on for the last few decades. We would have to keep this in mind that whatever would happen between the two nations, both of their citizens would have to pay the price for that." Were roaming the entire city with the naked dead body of the tattoo artist, Shaany Louk on a truck and throwing a few months old baby into a burning oven, parts of that "paying the price”? Aya answered, "these incidents are not true. Only to tarnish the image of the Palestinians, these lies are being circulated. None of these claims has been proven. We don't support the violence on the innocent people."

The neighbouring Muslim countries had not sheltered the Gaza refugees. Aya gave her logic, a major portion of the Gaza residents did not want to leave their land. She said, "Immigration is not the solution. Inspite of all the sufferings and displacement, our ultimate objective is to return to our land." Aya appealed to the world and to India, "Stop avoiding the sufferings of the people of Gaza. Not distant comments, we need real support. Not promises, we need actual steps to stop the war.” But would the world hear this appeal at all?

Gazans don't know where to go, to survive

According to the Gaza administration, on 12th April, six people including a child had died in Israel's missile attack. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry sources, since breaking the peace keeping truce on 18 March, Israel had killed more than 1500 Palestinians in Gaza alone. On the 12 April a wounded new born girl was brought to the Der Al Balah hospital at the middle Gaza. The baby girl named, Sham and her family were injured in missile attack. The seriously wounded baby girl's one hand had to be amputated. Still she didn't survive. Because the required set-up for the baby's surgery was not available in any hospital of Gaza. Within one hour of the surgery the baby passed away.

On the other hand, Israel had raided the so called safe zone, Al Mawasi relief camp at Khan Younis. Missiles and shrapnels were fired at the tents of the shelterless people. On 12 April the Israel authority in a new notice had ordered those people to evacuate the entire place. The completely helpless Palestinian families couldn't figure out where else they would run away from all these, just to survive. Lying across the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the entire Gaza strip had become unsafe. On the opposite side, acquiring land inch by inch, the Israel army was coming ahead. On the south, Rafa, along the Egyptian border, had been destroyed in a planned way by Israel. The Israeli authority had announced before, that the construction of the Morag corridor at Rafa was finished. This corridor had separated Rafa from Gaza. The professor of International Security at London's King's College, Robert Gyst Pinfold said, that to have their full control on Hamas and to arrange their plans, Israel had built the Morag corridor. Israel had long term plans surrounding the Morag corridor. The corridor would help Israel to have constant vigil on the entire Gaza strip.

As if someone has torn the bodies into pieces

There were so many tents in a clumsy set - up in Suzaiya. And inside those tents, thousands of homeless people were living. But after one after another missile strikes, it had become hard to recognise those set - ups as tents. And the humans inside them? Well, a youth from Gaza's Suzaiya area, Ayub Salim said, "As if someone has torn the lifeless bodies into pieces. Shrapnels are scattered over all around. Cry of terror is piercing the dust cover from every corner." The Gaza information department said, since the October, 2023, almost 62000 people had died in Suzaiya and the number of wounded had crossed over one lakh fifteen thousand. 76% bodies had been recovered and more than 14000 bodies could not be traced. Those were still under the heaps of destructions in remote areas. One journalist said, thousands and thousands of houses had turned into graves.

Although Israel had stated, in Suzaiya their attack was aimed at a top ranking Hamas leader who according to their claim had established his camp in Suzaiya and was preparing plans for militant attack. Blood of the ordinary people had wetted the soil of Suzaiya. Still, Israel authority had not disclosed the name of that leader or whether he was still alive or not. They had only informed that the former member of the armed group, Lions' Den, Mahmoud Bana was arrested in the West Bank. Also an arms dealer Khalil Hanbali was arrested. These two persons together were planning for militant activities, claimed Israel. Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah had been creating lots of troubles for Israel in the ongoing war.

"Your hands are strewn in Gazans' blood", shouts the young Indian woman

Protesting against Microsoft's assistance to Israel with latest technological amenities in the ongoing war, the young Indian employee of Microsoft, Vaniya Agarwal had shouted her words at the golden jubilee ceremony of Microsoft at sometimes in March, "Don't you feel ashamed? There is blood on each one of your hands. Using your technology, 50000 Palestinians were killed. Don't you feel ashamed of holding this ceremony on the blood of those dead Palestinians? Cut off all your associations with Israel," Vaniya had shouted pointing her finger at Microsoft's proprietor, Bill Gates, the former CEO, Steve Balmer and the current CEO, Satya Nadella who were present on the stage. They didn't make any comment. The security immediately had removed Vaniya from there. Vaniya later told, in the 13 crore and 30 lakhs dollar (1100 crore Indian rupees) agreement with Israel, Microsoft had handed them the AI technology named, Azure. These types of technologies were as good as digital weaponry. Later in her resignation letter Vaniya had said, "I cannot consciously remain associated with the organisation that supports violence this way. If you people are to continue working in this organisation, then question the organisation at every moment, regarding their accountability towards what is right and what is wrong." Although before Vaniya, another employee Ibtihal Abusaad had protested in the ceremony saying, "This organisation's technology is being used for genocide," and he resigned.

Highest number of journalists died in this war

More than one lakh people had become homeless in Gaza until now. Among the countless dead people, mostly happened to be women and children. Throughout the entire Gaza, huge fires were burning here and there. Since the end of the last ceasefire, Israel battalion IDF had stopped relief food from entering into Gaza. They had even destroyed the sources of water supply. And the journalists were being systematically killed, so that the inside news couldn't get leaked into the outside world. On 6 April, the house of a female journalist, Islam Meqdad's house was bombed while she was sleeping with her family, in Khan Younis. Five members of the family including Islam, her husband and son had died in their sleep. Afterwards in Khan Younis, a media tent had been bombed killing journalist Helmi Al Fakawi and injuring six others. Shrapnels had pierced into all of their bodies. A shrapnel had entered through the back of the journalist, Ehab Al Bardini's head and come out of his eye. Another journalist Ahmed Monsoor had received third degree burns in the bombing. He would die very soon. America's Watson Institute for International and Public Welfare had stated in their report that more than the First and Second World War, the Vietnam War, the Yugoslavian War and America's war in Afghanistan, highest number of journalists had already died in the Gaza War. Since 7 October, 2023, on account of 13 journalists dying each week, minimum 232 journalists and press workers had died in this war.

Rafa, once a lively city, now a wasteland

As far as one could see, miles after miles the destroyed houses stood with their burnt skeletal frames. Still some humans with lifeless faces were still searching for the last resort of survival in that heaps of destructions. The local administration had claimed, 90% houses in Rafa were destroyed in the Israeli strikes, "They have made the instance of a genocide that will wipe out an entire nation." 12000 sq. kilometer area had been destroyed to the ground by the Israeli military. People were living under the open sky. For the last few weeks, the relief had been stopped from entering the city. There was no food, no water. 22 valuable drinking water resources had been destroyed completely. No supply of drinking water. The drainage system had also been destroyed. Filth and garbage had covered the major portion of the city. Added to that, decomposed corpses, lying all around had made the condition unbearable. The voluntary organisations feared the spread of infectious diseases. The 12 health centers of Rafa had stopped working. Israel had destroyed the main Abu Yousef Al Nazar hospital of Rafa by using explosive robots. Eight schools and academic establishments had been severely damaged. According to the local health ministry, already 50695 Palestinians had died and 1 lakh 15 thousand were injured. The number of deaths could be higher. Although the Israeli authority had claimed, out of that 50000 dead, 20000 were Islamic militants.

Israel had taken vow to make Gaza, a militant free zone. They had started a cleansing operation in area after area that ultimately had turned out to be mass killing. Abu Uda, a resident of Khan Younis had informed, on 7 April morning, the major portion of his neighbour's house had broken down upon his house. He woke up and fled the place to survive, "A tremendous explosion. The entire area has shaken. While searching for my neighbours, I have found pieces of their body. The house is now a heap of iron and stone. And there are few memories, burnt into ashes."

Death cannot stop the journey of the journalist Fatima Hasona

Even after her death she didn't want to come to the news, didn't want to become a number. In 2024, she had written in social network, "I want that kind of a death that the world will hear in loudest voice. The effect of which will continue ages after ages. A death that will touch all the eternal paintings of the world, which time and place will never be able to bury." The photo journalist Fatima Hasona had wanted to leave her mark before dying. She knew death was her constant company. Because for the last 18 months, she was constantly showing the pictures of the Hamas and Israel war to the world and had stood by the war - ravaged people. She had also died in Israel's attack. Recently this 25 year old photo journalist had died along with the seven members of her family in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry said Fatima's parents were admitted to a hospital. Fatima's relative Hamja Hasona said, "Suddenly two rockets came down on the house. Within moments, everything was destroyed and huge fire broke out."

But Fatima's journey didn't stop even in death. In May at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, a documentary, made on her was shown. In truth, although her dead body was lying trapped inside the debris of her house, Fatima's story had reached the world. The name of this 110 minutes long documentary was, "Put Your Soul In Your Hand And Walk." The Iranian director, Sepaida Farsi had directed the documentary. He claimed the documentary was a living testimony of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. After receiving the news of her death, Farsi had posted a picture of Fatima on social network and written, "I will live with the last picture of her smile." He further said, he used to watch Gaza's condition through Fatima's eyes and he tried to become the window of the world to Fatima. Few months ago Fatima had become betrothed. One of her sisters, who were pregnant, had died too. Farsi had said, he had detailed discussions about the documentary with Fatima over video calls. Talks were on regarding how Fatima would reach the Cannes. The question was being raised, had this young photo journalist become Israel's target for this documentary?

The journalist fraternity was mourning this death. The Palestinian journalists' security organisation, PJPC had stated, this Israeli attack was a grievous crime against journalists and against the international law. They had claimed, Fatima used to live on the Al Nafaq road in Gaza. The entire road had become a wreck. Israel had remained strangely quiet about this attack. They had only claimed the attack was aimed at a Hamas militant, who was a member of the organisation, Gaza City Brigade. In protest against Israel's attack on Gaza and America's support into this, a group of agitators in Pakistan had raided 20 outlets of a fast food chain of America. 160 people had been arrested in this incidence. Fatima wanted to present Gaza's condition to the world through her eyes. She wanted her death to reverberate in high pitched sound throughout the world. Perhaps that sound had started to reverberate.

The Easter observed in unostentatious ceremony in Palestine

Not in mirth, but with their heavy hearts the Christian community in Palestine had observed this Easter ceremony. Keeping in mind the aggression of Israeli military and their killings of the ordinary people in Gaza, the Christian community had observed the Easter only by praying for the peace of the departed Palestinians. The Father of a church in Ramallah, Iliyas Awad stated, "People are dying in Palestine. Irrespective of children and women, every day people are being killed. That's why this Easter celebration is limited only within the prayer ceremony. We want the peace to return." He had also requested for the release of the captivated people in Palestine and the peaceful living of the common Palestinians.

Stopping the relief aid becomes Israel's main weapon

There was no food, no drinking water, no electricity and the tremendous scarcity of medical supplies. According to the United Nations, Gaza was no longer fit for living. Famine and epidemic were knocking on the door. In The Hague, New Zealand, at the International Court of Justice, the hearing had started against Israel from 28 April. The hearing would continue through the next week. A 15 judge’s panel from 38 countries including China, Russia, France and Saudi Arabia would decide, that since the beginning until now, how many international law, Israel had broken in this war. Although Israel had already submitted the written statement for this hearing, they wouldn't participate in the oral question answer session. Still, America had participated in this hearing. The political experts believed that America would speak in support of it's friendly state Israel. The foreign minister of Israel, Gidion Sur had said, this hearing was a "circus". There was political intention behind this hearing. Ammar Hijaji, the Palestinian ambassador at Netherlands said in the hearing, Israel was using stopping of all the relief aid as a weapon in the war. Since the 2 March, food and medicines could not enter into Gaza. As a result, 23 lakhs Gazans had been starving. Crisis had been going on surrounding food, water and medicine. According to Hijaji, Gaza was gradually becoming a mass grave.

4 year old Massa and her friends killed in bombing

The 4 year old Massa Abed had a green ball and her favourite doll in her hand and she was about to start playing with her friends, who were also of her age, in front of her house in Zawaida in central Gaza. As the town seemed peaceful, the Abed family had returned there few weeks ago. But that afternoon an Israeli strike at the tent on the side of the road, had killed Massa and her little friends all at once. Her 16 year old elder brother had carried Massa on a donkey cart to a hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The brother cried inconsolably holding the lifeless body of her little sister. As Massa's father Samy Abed described the incident holding that green ball in his hand, "She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll? She's four years old. What can she do? She can't even carry a rock." Israeli army didn't comment on this strike. Zaher Al Wahidi, the spokesperson with Gaza's health ministry said, since Israel had started attacking a month ago, 809 children had died in Gaza.

Gaza in fear of a horrible food crisis

According to the United Nations, the last food stock was about to be finished. After that a horrible food crisis would engulf Gaza. Until few days ago, Gazans would receive rice and mutton in food supply. But nowadays only rice and pulse soup were being supplied to them. Even there were doubts regarding for how many days the people would be able to cook following the scarcity of fuel. Already many food storages in Gaza had been looted. 53000 people had died already in Gaza, among who mostly were women and children. International relief organisation, Freedom Flotilla Coalition's ship Conscience had begun its journey from Tunisia with relief aid for Gaza. But at the distance of 16 miles from Malta, drone strike was carried out on that ship. As a result, fire broke out and the ship became stranded in the international waterfront.

Gaza moves towards famine, experts say

According to the findings of the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, Gaza would soon fall into famine. Nearly 5 lakh people were living in severe starvation and 1 million others could barely manage some food. For the past 10 weeks Israel was blockading all the supplies of food, water and medicine. Gaza strip now had to depend on the outside food supplies since the Israel's continuous bombing had destroyed the region's food manufacturing industry. Communal kitchens were supplying the cooked food daily. But those kitchens were also shutting down their facilities one after another, because their food grain stock was finishing at a rapid pace. Thousands of Palestinians gathered in front of the public kitchens every morning, struggling with each other just to receive the sufficient amount of lentils and pasta, required for the day. "We end up waiting in the line for four, five hours in the sun. It is exhausting. At the end, we walk away with nothing. It is not enough for everybody," said Riham Sheikh el - Eid, while waiting at a kitchen in Khan Younis. Day by day, the food prices had skyrocketed. "The Israeli government is starving Gaza as part of its attempt to destroy Hamas and transform the strip," said Chris Newton, an analyst for the international crisis group. Israeli authority had been saying, they had created this blockade only to create pressure on Hamas, in order to make them surrender and release the Israeli hostages. They had also claimed that Hamas was siphoning off the relief aid. A day after Benjamin Netanyahu had declared, he would not end the war with Hamas; Israel had launched an airstrike in northern and southern Gaza killing 22 children. The French President, Emmanuel Macron had said in his in TF1 national television channel address, "I say it forcefully what Benjamin Netanyahu's government is doing today is unacceptable. There's no medicine. We can't get the wounded out. Doctors can't get in. What he is doing, is a disgrace."

Israel military fires at a relief camp

They had come to collect food and other relief materials. In return they received death. Starving people were shot dead mercilessly. Nobody had any Idea that the Tal As Sultan relief camp at southern Rafa would turn into a killing field on 27 May. The Israel backed American organisation, Gaza Relief Foundation had organised a relief camp there on that day. Thousands and thousands of starving Gazans had gathered at the camp avoiding the tremendous heat at the noon time. They had waited in the line surrounded by iron barricade for hours. Then the moment they saw the relief trucks, the people lost their patience and out of desperation the people became wild. They broke the barricade and started running towards the trucks. Then the firing began. The Israeli military fired at the entire crowd that was engaged in the chaos. Bullets had also been fired from helicopter that was hovering and keeping an eye on the entire gathering. People started running amok to save their lives that resulted into a stampede. After all these the Israeli military had said, there were only blank fires to alert the people. The people had died in stampede.

From the beginning, several human rights organisations including the United Nations didn't want to work with this Gaza Relief Foundation. There were few controversies surrounding the organisation. Several sections had claimed that this Israel backed American organisation was actually a trap to lure the Palestinians in one place to make it easier for the Israeli army to kill them.

Israel uses relief aid as a ploy to capture Gaza

United Nations' Human Rights department spokesperson, Jance Larke said, "Here the relief aid distribution programme that we have undertaken is being obstructed at every moment. In the recent history of the world, such incident has never happened before." He had explained further, for instance, 900 trucks were permitted to enter through the Kerem Shalome border of Israel. But out of them, only the goods of 600 trucks were being permitted for distribution. That was very little. In front of the press media, the Palestinian Abdel Kader Rabi said, "We don't have even a grain of flour, no oil and sugar in our house. There is no other food. I have collected some bread, upon which fungus has grown. We are feeding that to our children. We need a sack of flour for our children. We are hungry. We want to eat. Every time while collecting relief aid, I am watching tremendous rush. People are pushing each other constantly. Previously, the relief distribution organisation of United Nations used to send us messages in our phones. Now we don't receive that. Every time I go to the camp, I return empty handed. If one has enough strength, then he will get something. Otherwise one is bound to return empty handed every day." United Nations' spokesperson, Stephen Dujarik said, Israel was controlling the entire relief distribution operation. Only in four camps at southern Gaza, relief was being distributed. In the entire northern Gaza there were no relief activities. The Israeli authority is luring the people of Northern Gaza to come to the southern part so that the Israeli authority could capture that land. They were even controlling whatever food items were being distributed there. No balanced diet was being distributed. Flour, oil and sugar, apart from these no other food were being given to the people. The quantity was so insufficient that nobody would be able to have a full meal.

Whereas the America backed relief organization, GHF was distributing beans, pasta, rice, olive oil, flour in southern Gaza. People had started moving towards south in search of food. While returning empty handed from a relief camp in Gaza City, a mother, Layla Al Masri said, "They are only saying that they have come to give us food. They haven't given any food or drinks. I am being compelled to feed water to my starving children."

On 1 June, well before the sunrise thousands of people had gathered at a relief camp. According to the witness, as the crowd was approaching the relief site, the Israeli army ordered them to disperse and come back later. Again when the crowd had reached Flag Roundabout, 1 km away from the relief site, the Israeli military opened fire at them. "There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones," said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd. He said, he saw people carrying the dead and the wounded in carts to hospital. "The scene was horrible," he said. While waiting in front of a field hospital, run by Red Cross, to have news about his wounded relatives, Mohammed Abu Teiba, 33, said, he saw Israeli army opened fire and kill his cousin and another woman, while they were moving towards the camp. His cousin was shot in the chest and died on the spot. His brother in - law was also wounded, "They opened heavy fire directly towards us," he said. According to the statement of the field hospital, at least 31 people including women and children had died and 175 people were wounded.

The Swedish environmental activist, Greta Thunberg along with 12 other rights activists had begun their journey from an Italian coast on a boat with lots of relief material. They were expecting to reach the destination within the next week. On 1 June, in the northern Gaza, the Israeli military had destroyed the only remaining hospital that was running the dialysis for the kidney patients. 160 kidney patients of Jabalia were dependent on that hospital. All the hospitals of northern Gaza had been destroyed by the Israeli army.

A 5 rupee biscuit is being sold at Rs. 2300!

Rafiq was a little girl of Gaza. Still she had not started talking. Sitting on her father's lap she was shaking in joy holding her loving biscuit packet. The father Mohammad Javed had posted this picture on his X handle and written, "now this biscuit is very expensive (in Indian currency, Rs.2300). Still after many days, I have found her favourite food and brought it for her." In India this biscuit packet worthed 5 Rs.. The Israel and Gaza warfare for the past one and half years had increased this 5 Rs. to 2300 Rs.. From 2 March till 19 May, Israel didn't let any relief aid enter Gaza. Gaza was standing at the threshold of a famine. Thousands and thousands of children were suffering from malnutrition. Some of these children would get only one meal some day. That too was not a full meal. Black marketing had increased rapidly. The black marketers had taken the control of the food in the open market. In Indian currency the price of one kilogram sugar was 5000 rupees. One kilogram of potato priced at 2000 rupees. The most fearful thing was whatever little aid could reach Gaza, was being sold in the black market.

Gaza parents don't know how to collect food for their children

In northern Gaza of 2023 November, Nour Barda and Heba Al Arqan were planning for a girl child, because looking at the ongoing truce; it seemed that the war was coming to an end. Back then, there was enough food for all. But by the time Heba became pregnant, the situation had worsened. And when in this April she gave birth to a daughter, Shadia, there was so little to eat in the entire Gaza that Heba had almost no milk in her breasts to feed little Shadia. Now every time her daughter cried for food, Heba held her at her breasts knowing that nothing would come out of them. Heba and Nour had faced this situation before when their son, Jihad was born in 2023; two weeks after the war had begun. Their desperate attempt to find food for Jihad was published in an article in the New York Times about the malnourished children of Gaza. Now they had two babies to feed. Looting and the increasing warfare had destroyed the traditional safe roots for the UN to deliver relief aid. Moreover, an Israeli backed aid distribution organisation had appeared in the scene and made the situation more complicated with several controversies. Shadia was born 2 kg. 28 grams, much smaller and weaker than her brother. She struggled to suck only half the bottle of formula the aid organisations could offer. Whatever sediments were left in the feeding bottle, Heba drunk that, hoping that food would produce little bit of milk in her breasts? "Her birth brought me more anxiety than joy. History is repeating itself, but this time with my little girl," Heba said. One day during the mid - May, Heba waited in the line for six hours to collect some nutritional supplements for her children and saw the aid workers evaluating Shadia's hands. Later they told Heba, Shadia was suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. After twenty months of war, Shadia's parents had no money to buy milk or formula from the market. They themselves were surviving on one meal per day. The aid groups supplied lentil soup, rice and beans.

Nour, 26, used to work in the pastry factory in the northern Gaza where they were now living in a tent on a road. He became jobless. The flour was being sold at $23 per kg. As a result bread had become extremely expensive. Heba said, "When we had Jihad, we still had some savings. Now we have nothing - no savings, no vegetables in the market and no affordable flour." Jihad was no longer a baby. He constantly asked for food. Few days ago, as Jihad was falling asleep, Heba heard him murmuring drowsily, "Mama, dough and bread." "Every day we lose more ways to survive. My son is only asking for the bare minimum - a loaf of bread. We're not asking for proper housing, or clothes or even meat. All we want is a loaf of bread to stop the children's crying. Is that too much to ask?," questioned Heba. Nour found no hope, "Our mood is broken. We go through the same suffering all over again every day."

In the Khan Younis of southern Gaza, the 31 year old Hanaa Al Najjar had three children. And all she could manage to feed them were dry lentils and pasta. She was left alone to take care of her children as her husband had been detained by the Israeli military. She was also ordered to vacate the tent; she was living in with her children. Her youngest child Muhanned Al Najjar was not even 2 years old. He weighed half of what his actual weight should have been at that age. When she ran out of food, Hanaa was forced to feed Muhanned breads dipped in canned beans. The child's hunger suffered day by day and he became severely underweight. Muhanned had died in March this year.

Israeli army intercepts the Greta Thunberg boat. Greta's expedition is successful

Whatever little bit of aid she had taken with her was not enough for the Gazans. She knew it. Still Greta Thunberg had embarked on that journey in 1 June in the hope of letting the world know what was going on in Gaza, how Israel was blocking all the relief aid and what could be the result of supporting Gaza. In the early morning of 9 June few distances away from Gaza, the Israeli military had intercepted Greta's boat Madellin on the international water front. Greta and her 12 activists colleagues were arrested. The United Nations experts informed, every day supply of 500 trucks of relief aid would solve the crisis in Gaza. Greta's objective was to inform those countries who were not supporting Gaza, that Gaza should not be forgotten. She believed her message had spread all over the world. She considered her mission to be successful. The news of Greta's arrest became popular on social media. Sometimes later Greta informed journalists she was alright, "obstructions will come. We'll have to continue our efforts. The moment we will stop trying, we shall loose our humanity."

40 Gazans killed while trying to collect food at a relief camp

On 16 June Israeli military again had opened fire at the Gazans, gathered at a relief distribution camp at Rafah killing 40 starving people. The camp was organised by America led Gaza Humanitarian Foundation supported by Israel. The United Nations had long denounced GHF for notwithstanding the humanitarian impartiality principles and carrying out its aid distribution in inadequate and dangerous way. GHF was using private US security and logistics firms. According to the medics, 200 people were wounded. Israel military authority had remained silent about the mishap. Relatives of the deceased had gathered at the Nasser hospital to collect the bodies. Women and children were wailing besides the bodies wrapped in white shits.

59 people killed at food distribution camp in Khan Younis

Starving people at Khan Younis had run towards the trucks carrying flour, hoping to get little bit of flour. According to an eye witness at the early morning hours the people had gathered near the trucks. They also maintained the line exactly the way they were ordered to. Inspite of that the Israeli military had started exploding shells on them following which the people had started running in directionless way. Then the military began missile attack along with firing bullets at many people. 59 people had died, 20 people were seriously injured and 250 were wounded. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, since the end of May until now at least 397 Palestinians had been killed and 3000 were wounded while collecting food. Addressing this crisis a Gaza citizen had told the press, where a sack of flour was being sold at $400 in the open market, the people had to depend on the food distribution camps. Regarding all these inhuman attacks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had issued an official statement, saying it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities" and "feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm." Adel, a resident of Gaza City told Reuters via a chat app, "People are being slaughtered in Gaza, day and night, but attention has shifted to Iran - Israel war. There is little news about Gaza these days. Whoever doesn't die from Israeli bombs, dies from hunger. People risk their lives every day to get food and they also get killed and their blood smears the sacks of flour they thought they had won."

Water system fails. Gaza faces drought.

On 20 June the United Nations children agency said, "Children will begin to die of thirst..... Just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remain functional. We are below emergency standards in terms of drinking water for people in Gaza", UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told journalists in Geneva. Unicef has also reported 50% increase in the number of children aged between 6 months to 5 years who have been hospitalized for malnutrition and that 5 lacs people were already starving in Gaza. Unicef has also mentioned that the US backed aid distribution organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was "making a desperate situation worse." James Elder recently visited Gaza. He said he had several testimonials of women and children who were wounded while trying to collect food. He made the special mention of a boy who was wounded by a tank shell and later succumbed to his injuries. James said the lack of genuine information about the opening hours of the food relief camps, many of which were in the battle zones, was causing these mass killings, "There have been instances where information (was) shared that a site is open, but then it's communicated on social media that they are closed, but that information was shared when Gaza's internet was down and people had no access to it," said James Elder.

The political chess playing

In this war of the last twenty months, 55000 Gazans including thousands and thousands of children have died. The latest survey stated, Israel has bombed Gaza with 1,00,000 tones of explosives. A major portion of the world now seriously started finding the solution for this hellish condition. Recently a draft proposal has been sanctioned in the 193 members’ general assembly of the United Nations. In that proposal the demand has been made to both Israel and Hamas for initiating an instant, unconditional and permanent end of this war. Simultaneously the demand has been made to Hamas and other organisations to release the hostages honourably and unconditionally. What was most important, 149 countries have caste their votes in favour of the United Nations' proposal. But 19 countries have abstained from participating in that voting. India happened to be one of them. The Indian government's logic behind this was, this step was taken in tandem with India's past votings. Because Delhi has always believed that discussion and diplomacy were the only way to solve this conflict. So India has proposed a joint effort to bring Israel and Hamas face to face for a mutual solution. Delhi has claimed that they have been advocating for a dual nation policy in the Israel Palestine conflict for a long time. As the result of which a sovereign, independent Palestine state will be formed which will maintain a secured and approved borderline with Israel. India maintaining distance from that United Nations voting was not something sudden or abrupt. This was a well planned step to maintain the tactical relationship with Israel.

In the past, Delhi had always supported the sovereignty of Palestine. India was one of those non - Arab nations which had approved the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1974 and the birth of Palestine state in 1988. During that period Delhi had voted in favour of all the pro - Palestinian proposals of United Nations.

But this current conflict has staged an exception. Although India has expressed concern over Palestine's current situation, the government has never condemned Israel for its attack on Palestine. Keeping a safe distance from the United Nations voting for the last few years has made it clear that the Modi government has brought remarkable changes in its Palestine policy. This government has decided to maintain safe distance from the conflict upon which it has no control. But the question has remained, whether Gaza's present crisis should have been reflected a little bit more in Delhi's diplomatic consideration, or not. On the aspects of sharing cyber security , intelligence information and defense measures, Delhi has maintained a close tactical relationship with Israel. India's recent steps regarding national security and terrorism have been viewed as having deep influence of Israel.

Day and night, the helpless cry of the relatives of the deceased people has turned the air heavy in Gaza.

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