The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that all bakeries it supports in Gaza have been forced to close due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, cutting off essential supplies of flour and fuel. The closures leave millions of Palestinians without access to basic food.
“All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to lack of fuel and flour,” the WFP confirmed in a statement on X. The organisation also warned that its hot meal programme would only last for a maximum of two weeks and that its final food parcels would be distributed within the next two days.
On Tuesday, the UN dismissed Israeli claims that food supplies in Gaza were sufficient, calling the assertion “ridiculous” given the critical shortages.
“As far as the UN [is] concerned, that’s ridiculous. I mean, we are at the tail end of our supplies, of the UN, that came in through the humanitarian route,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a press briefing.
The humanitarian crisis escalated after Israel launched a fresh aerial assault on Gaza on 18 March, killing more than 1,000 Palestinians and injuring over 2,000. The attack shattered a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement reached in January between Israel and Hamas.
Before this renewed military campaign, Israel had shut all border crossings in early March, preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and essential goods into the enclave.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive has killed over 50,300 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Additionally, Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its military actions in the enclave.
