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Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut

At an industrial bakery in war-ravaged Gaza City, a conveyor belt that once churned out thousands of pitta breads every day has come to a standstill.The Families Bakery is one of about two dozen supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) that have halted production in recent days due to flour and fuel shortages resulting from an Israeli blockade.”All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to lack of fuel and flour,” the UN agency said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that it would “distribute its last food parcels in the next two days”.Abed al-Ajrami, chairman of the Bakery Owners Association in Gaza and owner of the Families Bakery, told AFP that the WFP was the only sponsor of Gaza bakeries and provided them with “all their needs”.”The repercussions from the closure of the bakeries will be very hard on citizens because they have no alternative to resort to,” he told AFP.Speaking in front of a large industrial oven that had not been fired up, he said that bakeries were central to the UN agency’s food distribution programme, which delivered the bread to refugee camps across Gaza.Despite a six-week truce that allowed displaced Gazans to return to what remained of their homes, negotiations for a lasting end to the fighting have stalled.On March 2, Israel imposed a full blockade on the Palestinian territory, and cut off power to Gaza’s main water desalination plant.On March 18, Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza. Days later, Hamas again began firing rockets at Israel.The Palestinian militant group has accused Israel of using starvation as “a direct weapon in this brutal war”, pointing to the bakeries’ closure as an example.It called on Arab and Muslim countries to “act urgently to save Gaza from famine and destruction”. – ‘Reliving the famine’ -Residents of Gaza City were wary of the future.”I got up in the morning to buy bread for my children but I found all the bakeries closed,” Mahmud Khalil told AFP.Fellow resident Amina al-Sayed echoed his comments.”I’ve been going from bakery to bakery all morning, but none of them are operating, they’re all closed,” she said, adding that she feared the threat of famine would soon stalk Gaza once again.”The price of flour has risen… and we can’t afford it. We’re afraid of reliving the famine that we experienced in the south” of the territory.International charities working in Gaza warn that its 2.4 million people cannot endure more shortages after many of them were displaced multiple times during the devastating military campaign Israel launched in response to Hamas’s October 2023 attack.Those who took advantage of the six-week truce to return to bombed out homes have been “arriving in utter destitution”, said Gavin Kelleher of the Norwegian Refugee Council.”We’ve been set up to fail as a humanitarian response. We’re not allowed to bring in supplies, we’re not able to meet needs,” he lamented.Alexandra Saieh, of British charity Save The Children, echoed Kelleher’s remarks.”When Save The Children does distribute food in Gaza, we see massive crowds because every single person in Gaza is relying on aid,” she said.”That lifeline has been cut.”

Israel says expands Gaza offensive to seize ‘large areas’

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, saying the army would seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory.Katz said Israel would bolster its presence in the Gaza Strip to “destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure”.The operation would “seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones”, he said in a statement, without specifying how much territory.A group representing families of hostages held in Gaza said they were “horrified” by Katz’s announcement, fearing the goal of freeing the captives had been “pushed to the bottom of the priority list”.”Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘territorial gains?'” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.”Instead of freeing the hostages through a deal and putting an end to the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers to Gaza, to fight in the same areas where they have fought again and again.”Katz last week warned the military would soon “operate with full force” in more parts of Gaza.In February, he announced plans for an agency to oversee the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from Gaza.That followed Israel’s backing of a proposal from US President Donald Trump for the United States to take over the territory after relocating its 2.4 million Palestinian inhabitants.Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 before launching a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire.- 15 killed in newly reported strikes -Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 15 people, including children, in Khan Yunis and the Nuseirat refugee camp at dawn Wednesday.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Tuesday that 1,042 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed military operations, bringing the overall toll since the war began on October 7, 2023 to at least 50,399 people, the majority of them civilians.Hunger loomed in Gaza City as bakeries were shut due to severe shortages of flour and sugar.”I’ve been going from bakery to bakery all morning, but none of them are operating, they’re all closed,” Amina al-Sayed told AFP. Mahmud Sheikh Khalil said he couldn’t find bread for his children. “The situation is very difficult in Gaza, there is no flour, no bread, no food or water,” he said.On March 2, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza and later cut power to one of its main desalination plants.The idea of forcing Gazans to leave for neighbouring countries including Egypt and Jordan, first floated by Trump, has been backed by right-wing Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.- UN condemns Israeli attack -On Sunday, Netanyahu offered to let Hamas leaders leave Gaza but demanded the group abandon its arms.The Israeli leader has rejected domestic criticism that his government — one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history — was not doing enough to secure the hostages’ release.”We are negotiating under fire… We can see cracks beginning to appear” in Hamas’s positions during ceasefire talks, he told his cabinet.In the “final stage”, Netanyahu said “Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave”.Hamas has signalled willingness to step down from ruling Gaza but calls disarmament a “red line”.Egypt, Qatar and the United States are attempting to again broker a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.A senior Hamas official said Saturday the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal and urged Israel to back it.Netanyahu’s office confirmed receiving the proposal and said Israel had submitted a counteroffer. The details remain undisclosed.The United Nations on Tuesday condemned an Israeli army attack on an emergency convoy that killed 15 aid workers and medical personnel and demanded an investigation.”I condemn the attack by the Israeli army on a medical and emergency convoy on 23 March resulting in the killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian workers in Gaza,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.