TEKEYAS OF GAZA STRUGGLE TO FEED HUNGRY WITH DWINDLING SUPPLIES AND RISING COSTS
▶ Charity kitchens forced to reduce portions and limit ingredients despite warehouses full of aid waiting at border
Umm Ibrahim was running out of stories and tricks to distract her two younger children from their hunger while her older son fetched food from a charity kitchen in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Her attempts were in vain as Mohamed, five, and Mariam, eight, kept asking why Ahmed, 17, was taking longer than usual to return to the tent in which the family, like many other Gazans, now live after more than three months of Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.
For many, the charity kitchens, known as tekeyas, are the only source of freshcooked meals during severe food shortages created by the war, which began on October 7 after Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, launched cross-border raids into southern Israel.
According to the World Food Programme, 2.2 million Gazans of the enclave’s population of 2.3 million face acute food insecurity, including 576,600 experiencing catastrophic hunger and starvation.
Now, the tekeyas face the prospect of having to close as stocks of food in local warehouses and shops that they rely on start running out, pushing prices higher.
When Ahmed finally returns with a small pot of cooked beans, his siblings wait eagerly while their mother divides the meagre portion between two plates for the children to eat along with bread she baked earlier in the day. The older family members sate their hunger by dipping pieces of bread into a paste of red bell peppers and Palestinian dukkah – a mix of sesame seeds, coriander seeds and cumin.
“The food we get from the tekeya is pretty much like ambulances saving lives until the wounded get to the hospital,” said Umm Ibrahim, 41, whose family was forced to leave their home in northern Gaza in mid-October. “They don’t offer us full meals, or filling ones. We can’t rely on them fully and have to take side bites of canned foods or dry dips, but they do help stave off our children’s hunger and yearning for home-cooked hot meals, and offer crucial foods we don’t have access to otherwise.”
She has become increasingly worried for her children as tekeyas cut down on the number of dishes and portion sizes, and as rumours spread that they may soon shut down altogether as ingredients run out.
“If they’re cold, I can hug them tight and warm their bodies with mine, but when they’re hungry, I can’t offer them anything,” she said. “Words and hugs don’t quell their hunger. We fled our homes in such a rush, and such a long time ago, that the little we did manage to take away with us has already been consumed.”
Hany Abu Al Qassem, who manages a tekeya in Rafah, said his team of volunteers used to prepare 10 different dishes to provide the thousands of displaced people living near by with a proper diet, including proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients. But that became increasingly difficult amid shortages of ingredients in local shops and soaring prices. “Now it’s down to only two or three items, without any animal proteins, as we’re forced to ration our spending, and also make do with what is available,” he told The National.
“We’ve already halved our portions even though, with the increasing numbers of displaced people, portions should be increasing.
“If things keep getting worse, which they are, we may stop operations altogether, along with other tekeyas.”
More than 85 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, many several times, by Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive with the goal of “eradicating Hamas”. Hundreds of thousands fled south following the Israeli military’s orders as it focused its campaign initially on Gaza’s north. But with the fighting shifting to the centre and south, there is a constant influx of people into Rafah.
While the world has responded to the plight of Gazans with thousands of tonnes of aid, only small amounts are able to enter daily after passing through strict Israeli checks. On Monday, WFP executive director Cindy McCain pointed out that “people in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food”.
Adnan El Eid, supervisor of Al Rahma tekeya in Rafah, said staples like rice, bulgur, pasta, lentils, meats and legumes are hard to find. Oils, spices and wood are in short supply or sold at high prices.
“Cooking oil, which was sold at seven shekels a litre, is now sold at over 20 shekels [$5.30], while the price of a kilogram of lentils went from five shekels to 20 shekels, and firewood from 800 shekels per tonne to 3,000 shekels,” he said.
Umm Khalid, 58, is already feeling the effects of the crisis facing the tekeyas. Her family in Rafah, which includes 11 children and grandchildren, has had to make do with meals only three times a week from the nearest tekeya.
“I’ve seen children, who stood in snaking queues for hours to get food, returning to their tents with tears in their eyes, and empty plates,” she said.
“The aid we get is limited, and it is not close to meeting our basic needs. We’re helpless.”
I’ve seen children, who stood in snaking queues for hours, returning to their tents in tears and with empty plates UMM KHALID Gazan grandmother