Desperate Palestinians queue for food at soup kitchen during Eid al-Adha

Desperate Palestinians in Gaza queued for food at a soup kitchen, Saturday, on the second day of Eid al-Adha. Hundreds of men women, children stood in the heat waiting for the free handout.

For many it will be their only food to share with their families during the important religious holiday.

Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food as nearly three months of Israeli border closures have pushed the Gaza Strip to the brink of famine.

Farida al-Sayed, displaced from Jabaliya, said she had been standing waiting for an hour-and-a-half to get food for six people. "I feel I have a sunstroke, and I am in need. I only had lentils, and I ran out of them."

After blocking all food and aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, Israel began allowing a trickle of supplies to enter for the U.N. several weeks ago. But the U.N says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and because roads that the military designates for its trucks to use are unsafe and vulnerable to looters. The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome said Thursday that Gaza's people are projected to fall into acute food insecurity by September, with nearly 500,000 people experiencing extreme food deprivation, leading to malnutrition and starvation.

The war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages.

They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies.

Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.