In the Gaza Strip today, many Palestinians are not only enduring the horrors of war and displacement, but also face a growing devastating hunger crisis. Entire families have been uprooted, homes reduced to rubble, lives lost, and the ability to meet basic human needs stripped away. In this chaos, food, a fundamental necessity, has become a luxury many can no longer afford.
Children and their parents go to bed hungry, often having eaten nothing all day. They wake up with the same emptiness in their stomachs, with no promise that anything will change. Mothers walk long distances searching for food for their children, often returning with almost nothing. Some stand in line for hours at makeshift kitchens or food distribution points, only to be turned away because there simply isn’t enough to go around.
For many families, a single small meal has to be shared among several people. Children line up outside of tents, clutching empty bowls in hope, for just a spoonful of rice, a piece of bread, something warm to take the edge off the gnawing hunger. Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are often malnourished, unable to nourish the babies who depend on them. Malnutrition is weakening immune systems and compounding the suffering caused by injuries, infections, and trauma. And with hospitals destroyed or overwhelmed, even basic medical care is often out of reach.
This isn’t just about food. It’s about dignity, survival, and the right of every human being to live without fear of starvation.
As we gather with our loved ones and sit at our tables filled with food, let us take a moment to pause and reflect. Each plate of food in front of us is a privilege not afforded to many. Our leftovers, tossed into the trash, remind us of what others are desperately searching for. Let us not take for granted the comfort of a full meal, a warm home, and the safety to enjoy them in peace.
Let us remember the children who cry themselves to sleep with empty stomachs, the mothers who skip meals so their children can eat, and the fathers who walk from shelter to shelter seeking scraps of food. Let us keep them in our prayers.
In times of abundance, let us share. In times of peace, let us advocate for those who live in war. And in our quiet moments, let us carry the memory of every hungry child, every displaced family, and every soul in the whole world who, tonight, will sleep without food.
This moment calls for collective humanity, to remember, to empathize, and to act. Palestinians are not statistics or headlines. They are humans. And right now, they are hungry.
