After Israeli forces claimed southern Gaza as a "safe zone," thousands of Palestinians fled the northern areas, seeking refuge from relentless bombings and the devastating effects of a months-long blockade. What they found instead was another form of suffering—not from bombs or bullets, but from the deepening famine, as food became another weapon in Israel’s siege. The desperate search for bread became a daily struggle, with families fighting to survive in the face of starvation.

Securing a loaf of bread from one of the few remaining bakeries felt like a victory, but hunger still loomed large, threatening to consume every Palestinian in its path. In this grim reality, Palestinians turned to alternative measures, including makeshift "mud ovens" that became a lifeline for many. These ovens allowed families to bake their own bread, avoiding the "queues of death" outside bakeries, where people stood for hours, often without hope, just to get a meagre portion to feed their children.

Mai Dawawsa, a displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, shared the heartbreaking reality of those trapped in southern Gaza’s overcrowded shelters. “We stood for hours, sometimes all day, just to get half a bundle of bread,” she recalled. “Some didn’t make it through the queues, losing their lives while waiting.” The overcrowded lines began early in the morning and lasted until bakeries closed, leaving many, including children, empty-handed.

As the situation worsened, some families began to use mud ovens to bake their own bread, a crucial step in coping with the famine. "The mud ovens saved many lives," said Dawawsa, who emphasized how these makeshift ovens helped families avoid the deadly queues. However, the underlying problem remained: a severe shortage of flour, coupled with unaffordable prices, meant that many families could barely afford enough to bake. Meanwhile, Israeli policies exacerbated the crisis by flooding southern Gaza with flour, creating the illusion of stability, only to continue their war on food supplies once the displaced population had settled in the south. As a result, the entire region, home to over 1.5 million people, now faces a dire famine, worsened by Israel’s blockade of vital aid shipments.