She is wearing a thin pink jumper. She is 12 years old. Carrying two buckets filled with water in both hands, she walks along Gaza’s broken, uneven roads, surrounded by rubble, dust and debris. The 12-year-old girl, named Jana, is on a mission: to find food and water. Jana Mohammed Khalil Musleh Al-Skefi said that more than a year ago, an Israeli sniper killed her older brother. Since then, she has been responsible for collecting food and drinking water for her family. Her parents are in poor health, and the responsibility of supporting the family now falls on her shoulders. While waiting in a water distribution line in Gaza City, Jana told CNN, “I don’t want my father to become exhausted. That’s why I am strong. I want to stay strong so that my father does not suffer. My father is elderly and has heart disease. If he tries to carry the buckets, he will die.” To spare her father from hard labour, the young girl carried two heavy buckets of water all the way back home. The weight turned her fingers red. Her jeans became soaked with water—now extremely precious to the people of Gaza. Since Israel’s devastating war on Gaza began on 7 October, finding food and water has become increasingly difficult. The situation has worsened further since Israel imposed a complete blockade on all aid entering Gaza more than 11 weeks ago. A UN-backed report published earlier this month said that one in five people in Gaza is facing starvation. The territory, home to 2.1 million people, is on the brink of a man-made famine. Many international organisations have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. Access to clean water in Gaza has also become increasingly difficult over recent months, as Israel has restricted the entry of water purification and desalination equipment. Israel claims these items could be used to manufacture weapons. Jana told CNN, “It is very difficult even to fill a single bucket, because there is no proper queuing system and after waiting you might get nothing. Sometimes we have to leave without any water. I sit there for hours just to fill one bucket. It’s a terrifying feeling.” Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that at least 57 children have died from the effects of malnutrition since the war began. Among them was Jana’s niece, Janat. At birth, Janat weighed just 2.6 kilograms. Her mother, Aya, told CNN that the baby had been growing and gaining weight, but when Janat was six weeks old, the situation changed. On 2 March, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, preventing even the most basic supplies—including infant formula and medicines—from entering the territory. Aya said she struggled to breastfeed Janat. The baby developed prolonged diarrhoea, became dehydrated, and soon her condition deteriorated to the point that she required medical treatment. She said, “At the hospital, they told us there was a special medical formula that would help her gain weight and stop the diarrhoea—but we couldn’t find it. We searched all over Gaza, from hospital to hospital, from pharmacy to pharmacy. Even the Ministry of Health told us it was unavailable.” In a CNN video filmed in mid-April, Aya can be seen holding her baby tightly. The small child’s facial bones are visible beneath her skin, making her look more like a newborn than a four-month-old baby. Her thin, long fingers protrude from a blanket, and she appears to be asleep. Her large brown eyes seem to be the only part of her exhausted body capable of movement, following people around her as they pass by. Weakened by the lack of food and clean water, Janat’s mother was also struggling to survive. Like many new mothers in Gaza, her breast milk had dried up, leaving her unable to feed her baby. Janat’s condition continued to worsen. She struggled to maintain her body temperature. Doctors said her blood sugar levels were dangerously low, her oxygen levels were dropping, and malnutrition caused her kidneys and liver to fail, making her blood acidic. Janat’s mother said, “I begged the whole world to save her. I just wanted someone to save her, to provide the milk she needed. But no one could help. Everyone was just watching.”