Gaza fishermen risk lives for tiny catch in struggle to feed families

Gaza fisherman Abdul Rahim al Najjar risks his life every day rowing a dinghy into the waves under Israeli military surveillance to net an occasional crab or fish - tiny morsels of food on which his hungry family has come to rely.

The fishermen of the tiny Palestinian enclave have long been subject to strict Israeli prohibitions on how far out they can fish, but since the devastating war began on Oct. 7, they only dare venture about 100 meters from the shore.

More than three months of war, blockade and Israeli bombardment have pushed Gaza to the brink of starvation, with UN assessments saying its people are at serious risk of famine.

For fishermen, barely able to cross the first swells of Mediterranean surf, let alone reach the deeper water where the larger shoals may be swimming, anything they catch is now vital to keep themselves and their families alive.

"It is very little. This is our fishing. You see? We cannot feed our children," said Najjar, sitting on the beach and holding up a scrawny crab he had pulled from his net.

Small girls sat watching Najjar as he worked, searching for morsels in the nets as he sorted them and hung them to dry.

Before the war, fishermen used motors with their small boats and could range several kilometres from Gaza's built-up shoreline. Now, they head off in pairs with oars, one pulling them through the waves while the other stands to throw nets.

When they get more than 100 meters out, Israeli forces sometimes fire shells towards them to urge them back to shore, he said, amid increased security concerns linked to the war.

"We live according to what we fish. Despite what we are going through, we want to go fishing and live," Najjar's brother, Ibrahim who fishes with him.

Famine risk rises daily

Why they are willing to brave shellfire for so small a reward is evident in Rafah town centre, where people queued at a charity kitchen. Children, their faces pinched, stood waiting to eat meagre, unaccompanied portions of lentils or pasta.

"Our bodies are failing due to lack of food. My children are ill from lack of food. It's not enough. It's barely enough for two people and must serve seven. It's not even one meal," said Mohammed al Shondoghli, a displaced man in the kitchen.

A UN-backed report in December said Palestinians in Gaza faced crisis levels of hunger, with the risks of famine rising daily. Recent footage showed a melee as hundreds of people in Gaza rushed for a rare flour aid delivery.

At the charity kitchen, a woman who gave her name as Um Mustafa said she had come too late, and it was all gone when she reached the front of the long queue.

"I don't know what I will feed my children. My father is elderly. He has a heart condition. Schools only give a bottle of water and two biscuits," she said.