Parashas Ki Savo · 28:53–56 · Not cited by Torah Temimah
Sifrei / midrashim on the siege scenes of the Tochacha (parallel to the extreme of 28:57 on the main ring).
English: “In the siege and in the distress” — famine forces nature itself beyond mercy; the most refined man and the most delicate woman begrudge the flesh of their own children.
Custom (amplification of the horror of siege famine).
Under siege, even the most refined natures are inverted; the curse reaches the dissolution of parental mercy.