Hamada Shakoora’s cooking videos have garnered over 400,000 followers.
Khan Younis:
Speaking at his office in central Jerusalem on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on U.S. President Joe Biden to provide more weapons to “complete the mission” in Gaza as the country’s war with the Palestinian group Hamas continues.
About 100 kilometers from the prime minister’s office, with the acrid smell of gunpowder filling the air after recent Israeli air strikes, Hamada Shakoura set up a table in the ruined Gaza city of Khan Younis and began chopping up what vegetables and meat he could find from his emptied food pantry for the children he shares with in a refugee camp.
On October 7, Palestinian militants launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing 1,194 people and taking 251 hostages. Israeli attacks have killed at least 37,372 people in the Gaza Strip. As war continues in the besieged Palestinian territory, Hamada, 32, a food blogger, has turned her social media platform into a lifeline for displaced children.
Hamada’s story begins in the bustling markets and cafes of Gaza, where he developed his passion for food blogging. Initially dedicated to celebrating Gaza’s rich culinary traditions, his online endeavor quickly garnered a devoted following. Featuring everything from warm flatbreads to juicy moussakan, Hamada’s videos capture the essence of Gaza’s diverse cuisine.
“When I started the blog, it was all about showcasing the beauty and taste of our food,” Hamada told NDTV. “I wanted the world to know that there is so much more to Gaza than the conflict and hardships.”
But after October 7th, everything changed.
“Due to the attacks on Gaza, many ingredients and tools are no longer available in the market,” Hamada explains. “This was a major obstacle to making many of the dishes I wanted to make.”
Cooking at the ruins
With ingredients difficult to source, Hamada has had to get creative with his recipes, which currently include cooking meals in bulk using relief supplies, including canned foods. Despite the constraints, Hamada tries to maintain the nutritional value of the food he cooks.
“The meals I make are not entirely nutritious because many ingredients are not available,” he admits, “but we try to provide as many nutritious ingredients as we can to keep our children healthy.”
Hamada’s efforts come as Gaza suffers from severe shortages of food and essential goods. The Israeli army announced a daily “strategic pause in military activities” in parts of the southern Gaza Strip to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. But international aid agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that current aid levels are insufficient to meet the growing needs.
“Food has been distributed to some local displaced persons camps, but humanitarian aid has been very limited recently,” Hamada said. “Since the IDF took over the Rafah border crossing, we only receive occasional aid and otherwise have to buy agricultural produce at higher prices.”
Malnutrition in Gaza
The WHO reports that more than 8,000 children under the age of five in Gaza are being treated for acute malnutrition and 32 have died from malnutrition since the conflict began. The situation is worsening as Gaza’s infrastructure is destroyed and access to clean water and cooking gas becomes increasingly difficult.
“The destruction has affected every aspect of life,” Hamada says. “Clean water is hard to come by, there is no gas for cooking and most ingredients are unavailable. Every dish I come up with requires a lot of planning, effort and creativity.”
Hamada’s videos show him cooking a variety of meals in bulk using relief supplies. He often uses wood-burning and propane stoves to prepare the food. The 32-year-old partners with local organizations, such as Community Kitchen and Watermelon Relief, to prepare the meals in large quantities. Local volunteers are also essential to Hamada’s efforts, helping with food preparation, packaging and delivery.
Hamada and his wife recently welcomed their first child, a milestone overshadowed by the ongoing war.
“It’s especially difficult because we lack basic necessities for mothers and children,” he reveals. “We think about it 24/7: how to provide the vaccinations they need, how to get clean water, how to keep my wife and son healthy. We’re also trying to somehow purify the air, because it’s so polluted with remnants of bombs and asbestos from the destruction of buildings.”
Procurement of supplies
As well as cooking, Hamada’s videos also show him running errands such as searching for food and drinking water. In one video, he can be seen riding in a water tanker with several others, delivering badly needed water to people living in the ruins of Khan Younis.
“Since we were evacuated to Khan Younis, we started facing severe water shortages. So I started thinking about all the other families who are struggling to get drinking water. We got water tankers and distributed drinking water to families. I am trying my best but I am afraid it will not be enough,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Hamada remains committed to his mission, and his food blog, once a personal passion project, has become a beacon of hope for many.
“I am conveying reality in a shocking way and getting my message out to the world,” he explains. “For me, this content is a way to contribute to the collective resilience of my people and to keep reminding the world that we are still in Gaza. We are still alive… so let’s keep talking about Gaza.”
International Support
Hamada’s online activism has not only raised awareness but also garnered international support. His followers support his cause, share his content widely, and donate funds to support his work. His videos, which depict general internet trends in the context of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, have resonated with audiences around the world.
“Many communities and people have supported my announcement by sharing my content and spreading it online,” he said. “They have also continued to send very kind words through messages and comments. Additionally, many of them have made donations to help us continue providing meals to children.”
Hamada dreams of a future when Gaza’s food culture can thrive again, and despite the current devastation, he remains hopeful that the country can rebuild and reclaim its culinary traditions.
“Gaza’s food culture had developed a lot and was open to the world,” he recalled. “We had restaurants with different cuisines, as well as our own delicious Gazan cuisine. The invasion of Gaza took that away. I hope that once this ongoing war ends, we will be able to rebuild what was destroyed and develop it by sharing our food culture with all countries.”
