Palestinians in Gaza fear famine returning as Israel cuts off food amid Iran war
Displaced Palestinian families attempt to secure food from a charity kitchen in Nuseirat refugee camp amid food shortages after Israel restricted aid entry to Gaza following its war on Iran, 3 March 2026
Tareq S. Hajjaj reports in Mondoweiss on 4 March 2026:
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has been felt in the Gaza Strip from day one. As soon as the war broke out on Saturday, February 28, Palestinians in the Strip immediately expressed fears of potential border closures and the restriction of the entry of supplies, expecting that hostilities would likely continue for weeks. It did not take long for their fears to be realized.
Israel almost immediately closed all the crossings into Gaza, including those designated for humanitarian aid. Palestinians had already rushed to the markets that morning, anticipating the closure and hoping to stock up on food and other essential supplies. Those who used to buy one kilogram of flour every two or three days began purchasing entire sacks, rapidly causing shortages.
Amid the world’s preoccupation with Israel’s continued escalation in Iran — and now in Lebanon, as Hezbollah enters the fray — Gazans fear that another of Israel’s wars will go unnoticed: the resumption of its starvation policy in Gaza.
Mahmoud al-Qarra, 55, a resident of Khan Younis, says that even the simplest global developments have local consequences for Gazans. He explains that since the war began and news began to spread that the crossings might close, prices preemptively skyrocketed. Israel had not yet announced that the crossings would be closed.
“No one in Gaza has forgotten the taste of hunger,” Qarra told Mondoweiss. “Nor have they yet recovered from the famine.” Over two years of genocidal war in Gaza, Israel pursued a systematic policy of starvation as early as the first few months of the war.