Bread Is Not Enough: Saed and Gaza’s Children in the Lines of Hunger and Longing
6 a.m. The cold bites their faces, and dust fills the streets. Near a garbage dump on the outskirts of Gaza, a group of children stands holding empty bags and eyes filled with things no child should ever see. Among them is Saed, a 9-year-old boy wearing a torn hat, digging through trash like he’s searching for treasure.
Sometimes we find dry bread… sometimes rice. But we always have to smell it first before eating,
he says as if it’s a natural part of life. He doesn’t fear infection—he fears coming home with nothing.
Saed lives with his mother and younger sister in a partially destroyed room after his father was killed in a past airstrike. His mother says, He’s all I have… and he tries to feed us. My heart breaks every time I see him return with a dirty bag just so we can survive.
I once asked him, What’s your dream meal?
He replied confidently, Food doesn’t matter… I just want to sleep without fear, and wake up laughing—not running around looking for food.
His words were far older than his age.
In Gaza, poverty isn’t measured only in loaves of bread, but in the number of nights children sleep hugging emptiness. A volunteer once said: The problem isn’t just hunger… they’ve forgotten what a hug feels like.
I was reminded of Ghada Al-Samman’s words:
We need someone to warm our souls more than we need someone to fill our stomachs.
International reports from OCHA indicate that more than 65% of children in Gaza live below the food poverty line, and thousands lack the minimum daily calories. Yet no number explains Saed’s face when he smiles shyly and says: We found bread today!
In the end, I asked him, What would you like to tell people out there?
Without hesitation, he replied: Tell them we’re not just hungry… we want a hug. We want to play. We want to live like all the other kids.
Saed’s story is not an exception—it’s one of thousands that repeat every morning in Gaza. Because bread alone isn’t enough… when safety is missing, and warmth is gone.
