The China Mail - Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut

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."

G.Tsang--ThChM