With food scarce in the besieged and war-battered Gaza Strip, some desperate families have turned to eating sea turtles as a rare source of protein. Once the shell has been removed, the meat is cut up, boiled and cooked in a mix of onion, pepper, tomato and spices. "When the war started, there was food shortage. There is no food. So it [turtle meat] is an alternative for other sources of protein," says a Gazan fisherman. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES