"I sit and cry like a child because I can't provide them with food," a Palestinian father's touching story about his children

As crowds gathered at a food distribution point in northern Gaza, 6-year-old Ismail Abu Odeh "fought" for food.

"Give me some," he said.

But the food fell from his hands and he returned to his family's tent crying.

An uncle who had managed to get some food later shared it with Ismail.

The next day, no deliveries of water or food arrived at the camp where he lives, located in a school in Gaza City, and the people there were left hungry and thirsty.

Ismail cried again.

It is known that with the BBC has spent the past two days speaking to people across Gaza as Israel escalates its military actions and continues a more than 10-week-old total blockade on food, medical supplies and other aid.

There are growing warnings from the United Nations and others that the enclave is on the brink of famine.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government insists that there is "no shortage" of food in Gaza and that "the real crisis is that Hamas is looting and selling aid."

Those who spoke to the BBC described their struggle to find even one meal a day, with food kitchens closed due to shortages and few items in markets.

The items that are still available are at very inflated prices that they cannot afford.

A man who ran one of the remaining food kitchens in Gaza said he was operating "day after day" to find food and oil.

Another man said the kitchen where he volunteered had closed 10 days ago when supplies ran out, describing it as a "catastrophic feeling", reports the Telegraph.

A 23-year-old woman living in northern Gaza said that "dizziness has become a constant feeling" as well as "general weakness and fatigue from lack of food and medicine."

Adham al-Batrawi, 31, who once lived in the wealthy town of al-Zahra but is now displaced to central Gaza, said hunger was "one of the most difficult parts of daily life."

He said people had to become "creative just to survive."

"We have invented ways to cook and eat that we never imagined we would need," he said.

He added that the one meal a day he had been eating recently was "just enough to get through the day, but not enough to meet energy needs."

Elsewhere in central Gaza, in the town of Deir al-Balah, nurse Rewaa Mohsen said it was a struggle to provide food for her two young daughters, aged three and 19 months.

Al-Balah said he had stockpiled diapers during the ceasefire earlier this year, but that they would run out within a month.

The woman added that she and her daughters were used to the sounds of bombs echoing through the apartment.

"Sometimes I feel more scared than them."

"But, I thank God that I am still alive with my daughters," said the nurse.

Across Gaza, doctors described the impact of the blockade on medical supplies and said they no longer felt safe at work after Israeli attacks targeting hospitals.

Nurse Randa Saied said she was working at the European Hospital in Khan Younis when she was hit by an Israeli attack this week, describing it as a moment of "pure terror and helplessness."

Otherwise, Israel has long accused Hamas of using hospitals as secret bases and storing weapons, which the group denies.

The European Hospital is no longer operating, but Randa said staff and patients had been moved to the nearby Nasser Hospital.

"Our patients are mothers, sons, daughters and brothers and sisters – just like us. We know deep in our hearts that our duty must not end, especially now when they need us the most," she said.

Staff at Nasser and other hospitals in Gaza said the blockade meant they were short of basic supplies such as painkillers, and had to close some services.

The US has reportedly confirmed that a new system is being prepared for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies, with Israeli forces deployed to secure the perimeter of the centers.

Ismail's upset father said he could no longer provide food for his six children.

"My children go to bed hungry. Sometimes I sit and cry like a little child if I can't provide them with food." /Telegraph/