Gaza blockade: a Palestinian widow, her children and a cupboard that is almost bare

Ibtisam Ghalia and her four children are just one of the families living on brink of starvation with no sign of an end to blockade

Every day, Ibtisam Ghalia and her four children count their remaining stocks of food. These are meagre: a kilo or so of beans, a bag of lentils, a little salt, some herbs, spices, and enough flour for half a dozen flatbreads cooked on a griddle over a fire of wood splinters, waste plastic and cardboard.

In the two months since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, stopping food, medicine, fuel and anything else from entering the devastated territory, Ghalia's cupboard" has slowly diminished.