With trembling hands and tear-filled eyes, young Mohammed Al-Darbi scooped up a handful of sand and brought it to his mouth. His haunting words,“We eat sand because we have no food. We need flour. Have mercy on us!”, have echoed across the world, a symbol of Gaza’s collective agony under siege.

The video, recorded by Mohammed himself after returning empty-handed from an aid distribution point, has gone viral, capturing in one desperate moment the brutal reality of famine imposed on over two million Palestinians. For 21 months, Gaza has endured siege, bombardment, and what experts call a deliberate policy of starvation.

Despite having undergone lung surgery and still battling illness, Mohammed had no choice but to seek aid alone. With no flour or food at home, he hoped for a miracle. Instead, what little he found, a dropped 2kg bag of flour, was snatched away by another desperate soul. His mother, her voice worn with exhaustion, explained that the video was his way of expressing utter despair.

“We’re exhausted from this war,” she said. “We just want flour, food, a return to life.”

Mohammed’s plea is not isolated. According to UNRWA, two million Gazans are being systematically starved while trucks carrying essential supplies remain stuck at sealed crossings. The World Food Programme estimates over 70,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition. The blockade, intensified since March 2, continues to strangle Gaza’s lifeline.

Mohammed is just one child. But in his broken voice lies the scream of an entire generation, abandoned, starved, and forced to eat sand in a world that continues to look away.