Day-to-day life in Gaza is becoming increasingly dire as Palestinians have gone over one month without access to humanitarian aid. The UN humanitarian office OCHA warned this week that it is now "likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities." Since 2 March, no food, water, medicine or commercial items have entered the enclave, after Israel imposed a blockade and renewed its military campaign against Hamas across the Strip. Two months ago, Euronews spoke to 22-year-old Mohammed, who, along with his family, was able to return home to northern Gaza after 15 months of displacement amid an eight-week ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire allowed Mohammed to come back to his family residence after being displaced four times. He was one of over half a million Palestinians to make the long journey north along the Netzarim corridor, which Israel reopened in February. Mohammed returned to find his house completely destroyed, but he was grateful to have a roof over his family's head. "We are living on a miracle and risking everything, risking myself, my family, my sister's children, just to shelter ourselves from the hardships of winter," he told Euronews at the time. But one month after the collapse of the ceasefire, he says he's been displaced again, his family now living in a tent. "It was shocking because it came all of a sudden." Mohammed tells Euronews that the strikes began in the middle of the night without warning. "It was the 20th day of Ramadan I believe (20 March), and we were up to eat something quickly before beginning our fast." He said his home was targeted with a "knock on the roof" by the Israeli military. The Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv describes "roof knocking" as a practice employed by the Israeli military that is "used when there is concern that civilians are present in a building defined as a military target." A small noise-generating missile is launched at the roof of a building as a way to warn civilians to evacuate before carrying out a bigger strike. Israel has used this tactic since the first Gaza war in 2008, and says roof knocking is a legitimate warning method to prevent harm to civilians. However, critics of the method say it disproportionately harms civilians' property and livelihoods. Amnesty International has spoken against the tactic since 2014, saying there is often no military justification for destroying civilian infrastructure. Mohammed says what was left of his house when he returned during the ceasefire has now been completely destroyed. "If this war ever ends, I have nowhere left (to live)," he said. "It is now all rubble, unlivable." After Mohammed's house was struck, his family had no shelter for two weeks, he told Euronews. "Only now within the last week, I was able to, with severe difficulties, to secure a tent for my family and I to shelter in. The tent isn't even mine, it belongs to someone else and I am just allowed to temporarily use it." But Mohammed says even the tent camp where he has taken shelter has not been safe from bombardment. "Not too long ago, there was a shelling in my camp ... the strike targeted an area about five tents away from me." The prices of food and medicine have skyrocketed since the blockade, and Mohammed says he is able to obtain about one kilogram of rice per day to feed himself, his mother, sister and her four children. UNICEF has warned that "malnutrition, disease and other preventable conditions are expected to surge, increasing the risk of preventable child deaths." It adds that limited amounts of baby formula are available for just 400 children, "while nearly 10,000 infants under six months are not exclusively breastfed." Israeli authorities said the blockade was part of a bid to limit Hamas' resources and ratchet up pressure on the militant group to release the remaining hostages it took during its 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war between the two. UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder says the much-needed aid should be allowed into the Strip regardless. "UNICEF has thousands of pallets of aid waiting to enter the Gaza Strip," Beigbeder explained. "Most of this aid is lifesaving, yet instead of saving lives, it is sitting in storage. It must be allowed in immediately. This is not a choice or charity, it is an obligation under international law." Last week, the heads of seven UN humanitarian organizations issued a joint statement calling for urgent action to protect civilians in Gaza. "We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life," they wrote. — Euronews
