“We are living in hell — a hell without food.”

These are the words of Saeed Ashi, a father in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, who spoke to me from a warzone. Every night, his children are kept awake by the sound of airstrikes. The entire family sleeps in the same room.

“We don’t want anyone to be alone if something were to happen,” he said. “We want to live or die together.”

Saeed described walking for miles each day in search of food.

“The Israeli army is shooting and bombing the people protecting the food trucks,” he said. “They’re stealing the aid and then selling it back to us at high prices. A single diaper costs $4. A kilo of powdered milk is $70.

“We want to feed our children. We can’t watch them die but we can’t work. We’re living on donations, and those get less every day. I don’t want to think about going to the trucks. Every day, people go there and die — 50 to 100 people, every day. My friend died today just trying to get flour. I don’t want to think about the day I’ll have to go.”

Saeed was speaking over the phone with me during a Solidarity 4 Palestine Haslemere protest outside the Hindhead office of MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Stafford on Saturday.

Among those attending was Shirley Stump, from Fernhurst, who has been in regular contact with Saeed through a WhatsApp solidarity group for over six months.

The protest was one of more than 75 coordinated actions that took place across the UK on July 27, calling for an end to what demonstrators described as the “forced starvation of children” in Gaza.

Esther Morton, one of the organisers, said the group was responding to a call from Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda to bang pots and pans and make noise “so the world hears us”.

“Babies are dying because mothers are too weak to breastfeed and Israel is blocking the entry of baby formula,” she said. “As a mother myself, I can’t sit by while children the same age as my own are being starved to death.”

Esther was joined by her mother, Sharron Morton, a retired headteacher.

“The lack of action and urgency shown by the government is appalling — civilians, including children, are dying right now, and still our government is wringing its hands,” said Sharron. “Now is the time for action. No child should starve to death in 2025, and that shouldn’t be a controversial statement to make.”

The protest was peaceful, with most passing motorists honking in support. There were two incidents of aggression where police stepped in to ensure the group’s safety.

Another protester, Haneen Said, is Palestinian but did not grow up in her family’s country — she wasn’t even born there. Her mother and relatives were displaced from their home in Ahuzat Bayit, now Tel Aviv, in 1948, when her mum was just two years old.

“My mum was a child when her home was taken from her,” Haneen said. “They were kicked out, herded like animals. They had to leave everything. She lived in refugee camps for years — they had nothing. When I see the faces of starving children in Gaza, I see my mother’s story. It’s greed, it’s racism, it’s injustice.

“I am protesting because we are all human, irrespective of race, where we’re from, or our colour. Children today should not suffer. They should not be denied food. They are human. The suffering my people have to go through — they have no means to fight back. This conflict is inhumane.

“My daughter and I are here because all we have is our voice, so let us do something with it. Speak out. Be heard. Speak for the voiceless. Stand up for justice.”

Two teenage protestors, Arthur and Wilfred, said they were ashamed by the government’s actions:

“You are supposed to lead by example. Your example has been found woefully wanting. Previous generations said ‘never again’, and you have made them liars.

You are making decisions that our generation will have to make amends for. Your inaction is not done in our name. We are too young to vote, but we are not too young to have our voices heard.”

Haslemere Town Councillor Claire Matthes also attended the protest and said she hoped the demonstration had “highlighted the strength of feeling of those who took part, prompted conversations, and galvanised others to join in with local actions coming up”, adding that: “silence is no longer an option.”

In response to the protest, MP Jeremy Hunt told the Herald:

“I, along with many others, just cannot defend what is happening in Gaza, and I recognise the justified outrage at Israel's actions. Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK may soon recognise the state of Palestine is an understandable response to the horrendous scenes we are witnessing in Gaza, but I’m not sure it is necessarily the right answer.

“Many will sympathise, given that Palestinian statehood will be a necessary part of any two-state solution — to which Israel is no longer committed. As Foreign Secretary, I was the first to apologise for our shameful cap on Palestinian migration before WW2, but I have also long supported Israel.

“The international community must redouble its efforts to support a comprehensive peace agreement that delivers a safe and secure Israel alongside an independent Palestine.”

Greg Stafford MP said:

“I share the deep concern in our community about the truly horrendous scenes emerging from Gaza. I want to see a rapid ceasefire — one that brings an end to the suffering and offers a path to lasting peace.

“That will only come about through the dismantling of Hamas’ control, the release of hostages, and the delivery of urgent humanitarian relief. But it will also require coordinated efforts from across the region — including Arab states, Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, and Israel — to establish a broader, more durable peace.”

Saeed’s friend Shirley added: “As a birthworker, I support all women and birthing people — especially those impacted by a genocide that our government supports and funds with our tax money. Knowing what pregnant women, birthing people, and babies are going through right now is absolutely heartbreaking.”

As for Saeed, his message to the UK was simple.

“I am watching people die on the streets every day,” he said. “I want everyone in this world to know the truth. The world must know.”