Gazans risk gunfire and long treks for single bag of flour amid deepening food crisis

Residents in northern Gaza are walking more than 10 kilometres and braving Israeli gunfire to secure a single bag of flour, as aid shortages and blockades push the territory closer to famine, according to local accounts and United Nations agencies.

The Zikim crossing, the only aid entry point in northern Gaza, has become a lifeline for thousands facing acute hunger. Witnesses told China Central Television that the journey often ends in injury or death, with many crawling the final kilometres under fire.

Local resident Mohammed Al-Arabi said flour was now regarded as “white gold” and described crawling 3km near the crossing to avoid bullets.

“Anyone seeking food must face the risk of death to reach the crossing,” he said, adding that carrying a 25–50kg sack no longer felt heavy when his family’s survival was at stake.

The UN’s human rights office said 1,373 people seeking aid have been killed in Gaza since late May, most by Israeli military fire. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said airdrops and convoys allowed by Israel remain far below needs.

Another resident, Youssef Khater, said he had trekked nearly 12km from Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan district after six days without flour at home.

“We risk our lives just to get food for our children,” he said.

Gaza has faced severe food insecurity for nearly two years, but July’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned conditions had “dramatically worsened” due to tightening blockades.

Israel has not commented on the latest death toll figures but has said its forces act to control aid flows and prevent Hamas diversion.

Despite the danger, residents such as Ahmed Abu Al-Naja said they would continue to make the journey.

“Hunger is consuming our children… although I have been injured before, I pushed through just to make a pancake for them,” he said.

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