In photos: Gaza hunger crisis - 'Do we not even deserve a piece of bread?'

In southern Gaza's Khan Yunis governorate, crowds stretch as far as the eyes can see in front of the only operational bakery. For many displaced Palestinians, bread has become a distant dream.

"I swear to God, my children have become skeleton-like. We haven't had a bite of bread for three days," says Samah Al-Qahouji, a 40-year-old mother of nine.

Standing in the crowded queue in the biting cold, she is not only battling fatigue, but also the fear of returning home empty-handed to her children, who wait hungrily, clinging to the hope of a meal.

Additional Israeli constraints on border crossings to the besieged and embattled enclave of Gaza has meant humanitarian aid is trickling through at its lowest levels in over a year.

Flour, which hundreds of thousands of families rely on to make bread, is no longer available in all markets or at relief agencies, even after price increases. This has added to the pains of families already grappling with displacement, cold weather and hunger.

Displaced from eastern Khan Yunis, Al-Qahouji recalls sending her teenage son to the bakery at 3 am earlier in the week to fetch bread, a food staple. After waiting all day, he returned home with nothing. A day later, her husband tried again, only to find the bakery out of service. Now, she stands in the queue herself, praying that she can bring back even the smallest loaf.

With tears building up in her eyes out of desperation and helplessness, Al-Qahouji laments, "My two-year-old doesn't understand what hunger means—he just cries for food. Isn't the destruction of our homes and the killing of our children enough?"

Hunger crisis deepens

Al-Qahouji's story echoes those of countless others in Gaza, where breadlines have become symbols of despair. Flour stocks in markets have been depleted entirely, and available quantities are sold at exorbitant prices, far beyond the reach of most families.

Many bakeries have shuttered, and the few that remain operational rely on limited aid shipments that do little to meet overwhelming demand.

Majdoleen Barbakh, a 45-year-old widow and mother of 10, has spent more than a week without bread. Her children, some of whom are ill, take turns in the queue daily, often returning empty-handed.

"Today, I decided I wouldn't leave until I got bread, even if it costs me my life," Barbakh says, her voice competing with the crackle of gunfire as armed men attempt to control the surging crowds. "If I die here, so be it—but my children cannot keep crying from hunger while I stand by helplessly."

Hunger and severe shortages of food has led to the theft of aid trucks by armed men over the weekend, according to news agencies, leading to soaring food prices.

A sack of flour weighing 25kg has gone up to around $250 or more, if it can be found. This price is unaffordable to a sweeping majority of the population, which had been grappling with widespread unemployment and siege long before the war devastated Gaza over a year ago.

Clay ovens go cold

Even traditional clay ovens, long a lifeline for displaced families, have ceased operation. Without flour, families have no dough to bake.

Sarah al-Silawi, who used to bake bread for dozens of families, has not worked for days. "I've had to stop completely. People are now trying to survive on pasta or rice, but even those are running out. If the world doesn't intervene, we will die of hunger," she tells TRT World.

Al-Silawi, herself displaced and living in a school in Khan Yunis, reflects the desperation of a population trapped in a cycle of deprivation.

Humanitarian agencies warn that the crisis will worsen without urgent action. Despite limited shipments of flour allowed through the Kissufim (Karara) crossing east of Khan Yunis, supplies are directed to bakeries rather than directly to families.

The United Nations and relief organisations have repeatedly called for sustained access to humanitarian aid, but the flow of resources remains painfully slow.

"We are hungry in every sense of the word," al-Silawi concludes.