Beirut: Scared and desperate, their bodies ravaged with hunger, a heartbreaking tide of people crowds into the space between the devastated buildings of Yarmouk in Syria in the hope they will receive a UN food parcel that will stave off death for another week.

Many have already starved to death in Yarmouk, once home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees and an unknown number of Syrians. After three years of war, that number has dwindled to around 18,000, the United Nations says, with many fleeing to other countries or displaced within Syria itself.

On the outskirts of Syria’s capital, Damascus, Yarmouk has been under bombardment for almost a year, its residents hiding in rubble as aid groups struggle to negotiate access to the area.

Since January 19, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has managed to enter Yarmouk several times, distributing 7493 food parcels that can feed a family of between five and eight for 10 days.