Food kitchens and bakeries are facing closure due to severe shortages caused by Israel’s siege on Gaza [Getty]
Gaza faces famine with the risk of more bakeries in the enclave closing soon due to severe shortages of flour and other ingredients caused by an Israeli siege, according to the head of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network in the enclave.
Amjad Shawa told The New Arab‘s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that several bakeries have already closed, with expectations that flour and other essentials will run out by the end of March.
Fuel needed to keep the bakeries open is also running low, with Israel having kept border crossings into Gaza closed for a fourth consecutive week.
Shawa said the shortages have also forced charitable kitchens to reduce the amount of rations given to Gazans, particularly meat and poultry, among other supplies.
Medics in Gaza are already seeing a growing number in cases of malnutrition and anaemia due to the food shortages, Shawa said, and that Israel’s actions clearly indicate an aim of starving the people in the enclave.
Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.
The health ministry in Gaza said Tuesday that 830 people had been killed in the week since Israel resumed bombardments on the Palestinian territory, including 62 in the past 24 hours.
The ministry said in a statement that it recorded “792 martyrs and 1,663 injuries” since strikes resumed, bringing the total death toll since the war started on October 7, 2023, to 50,144.
A separate death toll by Gaza’s government media office released in January, said over 61,000 people have been killed by Israel’s war on the enclave.
Tired of war’
Palestinians took to the streets of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia to rail against the ongoing war. People held signs saying “Stop the war”, “We refuse to die”, and “The blood of our children is not cheap”.
Some could be heard chanting: “Hamas out!” while other videos appeared to show Hamas supporters dispersing the crowds.
A statement released by family elders from Beit Lahiya expressed support for the protests against Israel’s offensive and its tightened blockade.
They also said the community fully supports armed resistance against Israel and rejects “any attempt to exploit legitimate popular demands by a fifth column”, apparently referring to opponents of Hamas.
The protests erupted a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people.
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