In the heart of Gaza’s displacement camps, women like Umm Ahmad kneel before flames of desperation. With no gas and hardly any flour, she bakes in a mud oven — an ancient tool now reborn in crisis. The blockade, tightened further since early March, has left shelves empty and ovens cold, forcing thousands to return to this primitive method just to make bread.

The siege on Gaza is not just a political strategy — it is a weapon of starvation. With border crossings sealed and aid trucks denied entry, the most basic necessities have vanished. Flour, when found, sells at impossible prices, over 500 shekels per sack. For Umm Khaled and countless others, securing a single meal has become a daily battle.

These mud ovens, known locally as “taboon,” have become a lifeline. They travel with families from one makeshift shelter to another, bearing witness to the relentless displacement and hunger that have defined life in Gaza for over a year and a half. Women gather to share what little they have, baking together, surviving together.

International media, including The Guardian, have condemned the blockade as a tool of deliberate starvation. To call it a "humanitarian crisis" is to soften the brutality of what it truly is: a campaign of forced famine targeting civilians.

Since the bombardment resumed on March 18, over 1,600 people have been killed, adding to a death toll that has now surpassed 51,000 since October 2023. As Gaza burns, its people cling to embers — and to mud ovens — for a taste of survival.