The Faces of Gaza’s Hunger Emergency
For Islam, the only relief in life is when her kids fall asleep. Only then, she says, do they not feel hunger.
Like many women in Gaza, Islam is the sole provider for her children. But there is no way to work. Their home was destroyed, and she cannot leave her four children alone to try and earn money. Even if she could, there is nothing to buy — flour prices have risen 15,000%.
So she gives her hungry children tea instead of bread. In the single tent they share, she begins and ends her day with the same excruciating question asked by countless parents suffering across Gaza: What will we eat?
Famine conditions are spreading across Gaza as a catastrophic lack of food threatens the health of the entire population — especially children.
These are the names and faces suffering from Gaza’s hunger emergency. Every day the war continues, their risk of starvation grows.
Fouad, 6
Born with serious health complications, Fouad wasn’t supposed to live past 5. Today he is 6. But every day in Gaza threatens his health.
His mother, Jawahir, calls him “Salim,” which means “protected” in Arabic, hoping it will shield him from harm. “I count every day and every hour with him,” she says.
Jawahir has no home and no belongings. She sold everything for food. Her other son, Adam, is in the hospital.
With food unavailable, Project HOPE provides Fouad emergency nutrition. “I pray for his life to be long, for his weight to increase, and for him to grow taller,” Jawahir says.
Sewar, 1
At 18 months old, Sewar came to Project HOPE’s clinic weighing just 8 pounds.
Her mother was killed in an airstrike. Her father, Hasan, lost a leg to amputation. One of the things he mourns, he says, is not being able to carry his daughter.
With three other young children, Hasan can’t leave home to work. When his kids are hungry, sometimes he can only give them water.
“My children keep asking me, ‘Where is Mom? Where is Grandma? Where is Grandpa? Are they all in heaven?’” Hasan says. “My little one says, ‘I want to visit Mom’s grave just to smell her scent.’”
Noor and Nabeel
Nabeel and his sister, Noor, have faced long stretches of hunger. Nabeel was admitted to the ICU suffering from malnutrition and in need of urgent medication.
To help her children feel full, their mother, Islam, gives them tea or skips her own meals.
Project HOPE has provided nutritional support for both children to maintain their health. But Islam is pregnant and extremely concerned for her unborn child.
“Even ants store food for the dormant season better than I could do for my children,” she said.
Project HOPE’s medical teams are working every day to treat patients suffering from malnutrition. Supplements we provide in our clinics include high-energy biscuits, ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), breast milk substitute for malnourished infants (RUIF), nutrient paste for infants and toddlers (RUCF), nutrient-dense lipid-based pastes, and micronutrient powders and tablets.
In July 2025, 38% of pregnant women and 31% of lactating women screened at Project HOPE’s clinics were diagnosed with acute malnutrition. Among children under five identified as malnourished that month, 21% were classified with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), the most life-threatening form of undernutrition associated with high risk of mortality.
All photos by Motaz Alaaraj for Project HOPE, 2025.
