STORY: Hunger deepens in Gaza as food shortage worsens, aid plummets
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Oct. 28, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:56
LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Palestinians waiting in crowd to buy bread
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): KHALID AL-SATARI, Khan Younis-based displaced Palestinian

STORYLINE:
   
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the consumer price index in Gaza has sharply increased by 283 percent since October 2023 up to the end of September 2024 due to the war.
   
On Thursday, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said on social media platform X that, compared to last year, potatoes in southern Gaza can cost up to 5.7 times more, while in northern Gaza up to 66.7 times more.

"Hostilities in Gaza have severely damaged cropland and agricultural infrastructure, making it increasingly difficult for families to access nutritious food. Rising food inflation is impacting everyone there," the UN organization said.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic): KHALID AL-SATARI, Khan Younis-based displaced Palestinian
"As you see, the bakery is out of service. People used to get bread every day, but as you see, there is no flour or any of the basics of bread production. The bakery used to employ seven workers, but because of the closure, there is nothing. I have not received flour for six months, and I do not have any flour, nor is there any in the bakeries. I do not know how to manage my daily affairs, so I have to get food from neighbors or others. There was famine in the north, but now famine threatens the south. Unfortunately, even goods have become expensive, as a head of garlic costs about three dollars, and spinach costs more than a dollar and a half. If the situation continues as it is, we will suffer from a real famine, especially considering the shortage of food and its unavailability in the markets."

Many displaced people in the enclave survive on aid provided by international and relief organizations as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its second year. 

However, the aid supplies have been frequently stolen by unknown gunmen on the road linking the Kerem Shalom crossing in Rafah to the rest of the strip.
   
In Gaza, over 1 million people did not receive food rations in August, and the number climbed to more than 1.4 million in September, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said via his X account in early October.
   
"Over 100,000 metric tons of food supplies are stranded outside Gaza due to access restrictions, insecurity, damaged roads, and the breakdown of law and order," the UN official said.
   
"Again and again, hunger is spreading in Gaza. It is entirely man-made," Lazzarini said. "Choosing peace as a way forward is a choice of the courageous, it's time," he added.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza, Palestine.
(XHTV)