A harrowing journey to find food in Gaza

Summary

Consider This from NPR: A Harrowing Journey to Find Food in Gaza
Release Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Ari Shapiro

---

Introduction

In this poignant episode of NPR's Consider This, host Ari Shapiro delves into the dire circumstances faced by residents of Gaza as they struggle to secure basic necessities amid ongoing conflict and severe blockades. The episode centers on the experiences of Nadia Al Masri and Anas Baba, an NPR producer based in Gaza, highlighting the human cost of geopolitical tensions and restricted humanitarian aid.

---

Life Under Siege: Nadia Al Masri’s Story

Timestamp: [00:00 - 00:44]

Arias Shapiro opens the narrative by introducing Nadia Al Masri, a resident of Gaza whose family of twelve is grappling with extreme hunger due to Israel's strict blockade of the territory. Living in makeshift shelters constructed from worn tarps, Nadia's situation is a stark representation of the broader humanitarian crisis.

Notable Quote:
Anas Baba reflects on Nadia's plight:

"Why are you punishing everyone? What do we have to do with Hamas? It's not right to make the entire population, more than 2 million people, suffer."
[00:34]

This quote underscores the collective suffering inflicted upon civilians, who bear the brunt of geopolitical conflicts they have little control over.

---

Anas Baba’s Struggle: Reporting from the Frontlines

Timestamp: [00:44 - 10:48]

Anas Baba provides a firsthand account of the challenges faced by Gazans in securing food amidst the blockade. Over the past 21 months, Baba has not only reported on the war but has also lived through its harsh realities, including severe food shortages and personal loss.

Living Conditions and Food Scarcity
Baba describes his day-to-day survival tactics, such as consuming minimal meals and rationing his limited food supplies until they were entirely depleted.

Notable Quote:

"I cannot find the basics, just like flour, cooking oil, lentils."
[01:09]

The scarcity of essential food items has led to drastic measures, with families resorting to making bread from crushed lentils and pasta, as seen with Nadia's family.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF): A Controversial Aid Mechanism
Israel and the United States established the GHF to distribute food within Gaza, aiming to prevent Hamas from diverting aid. However, the United Nations and various health officials have criticized the GHF for exacerbating violence and limiting effective aid distribution.

Notable Quote:
Baba shares his harrowing experience at a GHF distribution site:

"It's truly a day in my life that I will never, ever forget."
[02:22]

June 23rd Incident: A Deadly Encounter
On the night of June 23rd, Baba recounts a terrifying journey to a GHF distribution site that resulted in violence and loss of life.

• Early Efforts and Rising Tensions
  Baba and his cousin set out to secure food, carrying essentials like water, first aid kits, and protective knives. The GHF sites have unpredictable operating hours to prevent overcrowding, but reaching them often requires passing through Israeli military zones.

• Confrontation with Israeli Forces
  As the crowd approached the site, an Israeli tank halted their progress, leading to immediate gunfire. Baba describes the chaos and fear that ensued:

  "I heard the gunshots and the people screaming that they are injured and others saying that my brother died."
  [06:44]

• Accessing the Distribution Site
  After narrowly escaping the initial attack, Baba eventually reached the open site, only to witness violent scuffles as desperate individuals fought for limited food supplies.

  "A woman in her 40s with her son... do not even touch my son or the food."
  [08:01]

• Theft and Survival
  As Baba and his cousin attempted to leave with their food, they were confronted by masked thieves demanding half of their provisions. In self-defense, they threw their food at the assailants and fled, leaving Baba with only a week's worth of supplies.

• Aftermath and Casualties
  The incident resulted in over 200 injuries and 26 deaths, with many victims receiving no immediate medical attention due to the overwhelmed healthcare facilities.

Notable Quote:
Reflecting on the aftermath, Baba states:

"There is no white shrouds in the hospitals. In the meantime, the dead bodies that lying on the ground were covered by the same sacks that they were taken at to fill it up with food."
[10:48]

---

The Unending Struggle for Food and Safety

Timestamp: [10:48 - 11:15]

Daily, the GHF attempts to open new food distribution sites amidst relentless challenges. Health officials report that hunger-seeking individuals continue to face fatal consequences, with many leaving the sites without assistance. The cyclical nature of hope and despair underscores the precarious existence of Gaza's residents.

---

Conclusion: The Human Cost of Conflict

Timestamp: [11:15 - End]

Ari Shapiro encapsulates the gravity of the situation, emphasizing that obtaining food in Gaza today is not merely a matter of hardship but a life-threatening endeavor. The episode serves as a stark reminder of the profound human suffering caused by prolonged blockades and restricted humanitarian access.

Notable Quote:
Shapiro concludes with a sobering reflection:

"One Israeli lawmaker has openly said he wants Gazans to starve. Now, getting food has become a deadly venture for many Palestinians."
[02:30]

---

Key Takeaways

• Humanitarian Crisis: The blockade on Gaza has led to extreme food scarcity, forcing families to endure starvation and make perilous journeys for basic sustenance.

• GHF's Role: While intended to facilitate aid distribution, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been criticized for contributing to violence and inefficiency in aid delivery.

• Personal Stories: Through the experiences of Nadia Al Masri and Anas Baba, the episode personalizes the broader geopolitical conflict, highlighting individual resilience and the devastating impact on civilians.

• Call to Action: The narrative urges listeners to recognize the urgent need for effective humanitarian interventions and the cessation of policies that exacerbate civilian suffering.

---

This comprehensive summary captures the essence of NPR's Consider This episode, providing a detailed account of the struggles faced by Gaza's residents in their quest for food amidst ongoing conflict and blockade.

Transcript

[Ari Shapiro]

For months, Anas Baba, NPR's producer in Gaza, has been talking to people like Nadia Al Masri, whose families were facing starvation amid Israel's blockade on the territory.

[Anas Baba]

Hunga, she says, is when your children cry themselves to sleep, they are too hungry.

[Ari Shapiro]

Her family of 12 was living in a shelter of worn tarps, and Baba found her making bread out of crushed lentils and pasta.

[Anas 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.

[Ari Shapiro]

Israel bans international journalists from independent access to Gaza. But Bhabha is from Gaza, and in the 21 months he's been reporting on the war, he. He's also been living it. He was eating just one small meal a day and rationing his food supplies until those supplies ran out several weeks ago.

[Anas Baba]

I cannot find the basics, just like flour, cooking oil, lentils.

[Ari Shapiro]

Over the war, he has lost a third of his body weight. And he's been observing what severe hunger does to a person's body.

[Anas Baba]

Women faint in the street. Children faint in the street. Hunger is a little bit of an addiction. Once you feel that your stomach, your brain, your body is craving something, you will not be afraid of anything. And you can do anything to bring food for your children and for yourself.

[Ari Shapiro]

Israel still tightly restricts the entry of food into Gaza. The food it does allow in is mostly distributed through new sites run by private American contractors. The group is called the Gaza Humanitarian foundation, or ghf. It operates under protection from the Israeli military. The UN Secretary General has said this new system is killing people. According to health officials and international medical teams in Gaza, hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli troops as they approach these food sites. US Officials have accused American media of spreading Hamas misinformation. After Anas Baba ran out of food, he had to make the perilous journey himself to one of these new GHF distribution sites.

[Anas Baba]

It's truly a day in my life that I will never, ever forget.

[Ari Shapiro]

Consider this. One Israeli lawmaker has openly said he wants Gazans to starve. Now, getting food has become a deadly venture for many Palestinians. From npr, I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Eric Glass]

The House of Representatives has approved a White House request to claw back two years of previously approved funding for public media. The rescissions package now moves on to the Senate. This move poses a serious threat to local stations and public media as we know it. Please take a stand for public media [e-mail] thank you.

[Daniel Estrin]

This is Eric Glass on this American life. Sometimes we just show up somewhere, turn on our tape recorders and see what happens.

[Unnamed Car Dealership Employee]

If you can't get seven cars in 12 days, you gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, holy, what are you kidding me?

[Daniel Estrin]

Like this car dealership trying to sell its monthly quota of cars and it.

[Ari Shapiro]

Is not going well.

[Unnamed Car Dealership Employee]

I just don't want one balloon to a car. Balloon the whole freaking place so it looks like a circus.

[Daniel Estrin]

Real life stories every week.

[Unnamed Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Host]

You know those things you shout at the radio or maybe even at this very NPR podcast on NPR's Wait, Wait, don't tell me. We actually say those things on the radio and on the podcast. We're rude across all media. We think the news can take it. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, don't tell me. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Shapiro]

It'S consider this from npr. Getting food in Gaza today requires putting your life on the line. It's a trek. NPR's producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, experienced himself on the evening of June 23rd. The account you're about to hear is rare reporting by a journalist from inside a new food distribution site that the US And Israel set up in Gaza, sites the United nations calls death traps. Before we start a warning that in this story you will hear the sounds of gunfire and descriptions of violence. Here's NPR's Daniel Estrett.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

Strict Israeli controls on food entering Gaza have driven widespread hunger. On the evening of June 23, Anas Baba and his cousin walked for hours to get food at one of the new food distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

[Anas Baba]

It's truly a day in my life that I will never ever forget. We packed a small like backpack, water, bandages, first aid kit.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

Others tuck a large empty sack under their belt on one hip and on.

[Anas Baba]

The other and the other side is a knife to protect themselves from the looters and the bandits.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

Around midnight, Bhabha joined large crowds waiting to approach the food site. GHF has changing hours and opens and closes the site at very short notice, they say to prevent crowd surges. But to get there, you have to pass through an Israeli military zone. Bhabha says some edge close to get to the front of the crowd before the site opens, despite the risk of Israeli soldiers perceiving them as a threat.

[Unnamed Witness]

This is the moment where everyone here says that's the GHF site, it's Oben. And now it's 1/3 30 after midnight.

[Anas Baba]

So all of the cars turns on the engine and they started to race each other motorcycles. And between them there is People running between the cars. I saw some people that being crashed. I see some people that they were literally underneath the cars.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

He ran with the crowd, but when they got close to the site, they were shocked to find an Israeli tank. The crowd was wrong. The food site was not yet open.

[Anas Baba]

Every single person started to retreat and run and the tank did not even wait a second.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

Baba recorded the gunfire from a distance. He and his cousin threw themselves to the ground.

[Anas Baba]

And I heard the gunshots and the people screaming that they are injured and others saying that my brother died. And others were screaming my friend died.

[Unnamed Witness]

It's still at the meantime.

[Anas Baba]

01:48 and the gunfire didn't stop. And I can see in front of me that people are still awaiting. They're not leaving.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

The Israeli military told NPR people gathered near the site and adjacent to Israeli IDF troops. Quote, reports of injured individuals as a result of IDF fire in the area were received. The details are under review.

[Anas Baba]

At 2am the gunfire just stopped. And we told ourselves, maybe this is a sign from them. We were going to go for another run. I stepped in buddies, and they didn't stop.

[Unnamed Witness]

This is another run.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

This time the GHF site was open. Baba watched large crowds tear down a fence to reach boxes of food sitting on wooden pallets.

[Anas Baba]

I grabbed my cell phone and started to record what I'm seeing in front of me.

[Unnamed Witness]

And people enter fighting each other to take as much as possible.

[Anas Baba]

A woman in her 40s with her son. And that woman, Sweetie, with an angry face. She was holding two knives in her own hands and she was screaming in everyone, do not even touch my son or the food.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

It didn't used to be this kind of free for all. For most of the war, there were hundreds of aid distribution centers across Gaza. UN agencies would send a text message when it was your turn to pick up food, and everyone got some. Israel and the US accused Hamas of diverting that aid, so they set up the GHF to keep Hamas away. But at the GHF site, Bhabha saw people he believes were Hamas members, based on their looks, taking food for their families. GHF told NPR it's impossible to screen for individuals affiliated with Hamas, but said it was preventing Hamas from controlling the flow of aid. GHF also said it forbids Palestinians from filming US contractors at the site.

[Anas Baba]

People came to me telling me, look at your forehead. There is three laser points, green laser points on my head from the American contractors. And one of them said out loud with the speaker, no filming is allowed.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

Asked about this reporting GHF acknowledged the concern that the changing hours could expose people to potential Israeli military fire. The military says it's opened new roads and created new signage. GHF says Hamas has wounded and killed people en route to their sites and has killed and threatened Palestinians working with them. 170 rights groups and aid groups have called for the GHF system to be dismantled. At the distribution site, Baba grabbed whatever food he could find tossed on the ground.

[Anas Baba]

I bought 5kg of rice. It was open with some sand in it, but I didn't care. It's food. I can wash it.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

His cousin got trampled on the ground by the crowds and he helped pull him up. Then they fought upstream through a river of people trying to leave with their bags of food. Walking back, they were stopped by four masked thieves.

[Anas Baba]

They were having big knives. And they told us, you do have two options. Give us half of what you had, okay, or we're gonna harm you.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

When the thieves refused to negotiate, Baba and his cousin threw two bags of food at the thieves and ran away with enough food to give their relatives. Baba was left with about a week and a half of supplies for himself. Later that morning, Baba went to the hospital. Health officials said more than 200 people were wounded and 26 killed outside the food site.

[Anas Baba]

There is no white shrouds in the hospitals. In the meantime, the dead bodies that lying on the ground were covered by the same sacks that they were taken at to fill it up with food.

[Unnamed NPR Reporter]

Every day, GHF has opened its food distribution sites, including today. Gaza Health officials say hungry people seeking food have been killed and many people return from the sites empty handed.

[Ari Shapiro]

That was reporting from NPR's Daniel Estrin and Anas Baba. This episode was produced by Janaki Mehta and Matt Ozug. It was edited by Christopher Intagliotta, Nadia Lancy and and James Heider. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's consider this from npr. I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Unnamed Planet Money Host]

This summer on Planet Money Summer School, we're learning about political economy. We're getting into the nitty gritty of what government does with things like trade, taxes, immigration and healthcare.

[Daniel Estrin]

So politics and economics, which are taught separately, they shouldn't be separated at all. I think you have to understand one to really appreciate the other.

[Unnamed Planet Money Host]

So what is the right amount of government in our lives? Tune into Planet Money Summer School from npr. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Unnamed NPR Announcer]

You're listening to NPR because you're curious. You want to know what the world is like beyond the surface. NPR feeds that curiosity with stories from real people with real experiences and all the perspectives that come with them. It's our right to be curious and our prerogative to listen. So keep your curiosity alive. Hear the bigger picture every day on npr.

[Eric Glass]

Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon prime members can listen to Consider this sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get consider this plus@ +npr.org that's +npr.org.