AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Israel's blockade has halted the entry of all goods into Gaza. The government says it needs to do so in order to force Hamas to release all the hostages. The U.S. is now proposing a new plan to create distribution zones protected by private security groups. International aid organizations in the U.N. say the plan is dangerous for Palestinians and is not feasible. With very little food left, many families are stretching the meager supplies they do have, as NPR's Anas Baba reports.
ANAS BABA, BYLINE: A long line stretches in front of a small store surrounded by mounds of rubble. The only thing inside is a large mill. This was once a popular place to get fresh spices, ground for Palestinian chicken and lamb dishes. But now, it's just the long grinder churning the few stables (ph) people have left.
(SOUNDBITE OF LENTILS FALLING)
BABA: There are small bags of lentils and beans ground into powder to mimic bread flour. There is barely any wheat flour lift in Gaza.
(SOUNDBITE OF WHEAT GRINDING)
BABA: Mustafa Shalyil pays just over $2 to grind what little he has left of dry lentils. The 32-years-old father is covered in dust after walking more than a mile from his tent. Holding his hand, his son is also dirty from the trek.
MUSTAFA SHALYIL: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: "Lentil soup does not last long in our stomach," he says. "Bread made from lentil flour helps the hunger stay away longer." He says the lentils he had ground into flour will only last his family for three days. While it may be common to use legumes or other grains as flour for bread in some cultures, it's not in Gaza, but many say it's the only way to feed their families. The U.N. says the warehouses have no food left.
(SOUNDBITE OF THUDDING)
BABA: Sixty-year-old Nadia Al-Masri shapes large balls out of the grain mixture. It's bright orange in color, made up of the lentil flour, soaked pasta and water. Her son just made it back from the mill to where the family of 12 is sheltering. They are living in one classroom in a packed school housing hundreds of families. Worn tarps serve as makeshift walls, barely separating one family from another.
In the corner, Masri has lit a fire in a metal-covered oven. She fuels it with anything she can salvage from the rubble of building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes across Jabalia. The air is thick with the smell of burning plastic.
(SOUNDBITE OF THUDDING)
BABA: She flattens the bowl into thick discs and lays them on top of the oven to cook. She says this is the worst hunger her family has dealt with since the war started more than 18 months ago.
NADIA AL-MASRI: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: "Hunger," she says, "is when your children cry themselves to sleep. They are too hungry."
AL-MASRI: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: "Why are you punishing everyone?" she asks. "What do we have to do with Hamas? It's not right to make the entire population, more than 2 million people, suffer," she adds.
AL-MASRI: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: Al-Masri calls over her son. The hot bread is ready. If it cools down, it turns too chewy and impossible to eat. But, she says, it's better than starving. Anas Baba, NPR News, Jabalia.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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