UN shuts down all bakeries in Gaza amid Israel’s blockade

Officials announced on Tuesday that the U.N. food agency is shutting down all its bakeries in the Gaza Strip due to a shortage of supplies following Israel’s blockade of the area for nearly a month. Israel resumed its offensive to compel the Hamas militant group to agree to modifications in their ceasefire agreement. The country reported that sufficient food supplies had arrived in Gaza throughout the six-week truce to support the approximately 2 million Palestinians living in the territory for a long period.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described Israel’s claim as “ridiculous,” emphasizing the severe nature of the food shortage. He noted that the organization is “at the tail end of our supplies,” with bakeries shutting down due to a shortage of flour and cooking oil, as he stated on Tuesday.

Markets have mostly cleared out in recent weeks. According to U.N. agencies, the supplies accumulated during the ceasefire are dwindling. Gaza depends heavily on international aid as the war has devastated nearly all of its food production capacity. Mohammed al-Kurd, a father of 12, shared that his children often sleep without dinner.

“We ask them to be patient, assuring them that we will bring flour in the morning,”

he explained.

“We are lying to them and to ourselves.”

For the second day in a row, Israel’s military urged residents of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, to evacuate immediately, indicating a potential major ground operation is imminent. The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees stated that at least 140,000 people were ordered to leave.

A memo from the World Food Program addressed to aid organizations indicated that it can no longer sustain its remaining bakeries that supply essential bread for many. The U.N. agency stated it is focusing on its leftover supplies to deliver emergency food assistance and enhance the distribution of hot meals.

Olga Cherevko, a representative from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, announced that the WFP is closing its last 19 bakeries, following the closure of six last month. She emphasized that hundreds of thousands depend on these facilities.

COGAT, the Israeli military authority managing Palestinian matters, reported that over 25,000 trucks delivered nearly 450,000 tons of aid to Gaza during the ceasefire. This amount constitutes about one-third of the total aid that has been brought in throughout the conflict.

“There is enough food for a long period of time, if Hamas lets the civilians have it,” it said.

U.N. agencies and aid organizations reported difficulties in delivering and distributing aid prior to the ceasefire in January. Their estimates of the aid that reached individuals in Gaza were consistently lower than those from COGAT, which calculated figures based on the amount that passed through border crossings.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, hospitals have received at least 42 bodies and over 180 wounded individuals in the last 24 hours. Since Israel resumed heavy bombardments two weeks ago, a minimum of 1,042 Palestinians have lost their lives.