Gaza’s businesses are set to run out of bread within a year as food source is on the brink of collapse, the United Nations warned. Support organizations have now reduced food distribution by half, areas are stripped of fresh produce, and aid workers are struggling to move amid continued Jewish bombardments.
Israel has enforced a total blockade on Gaza for 4 weeks, cutting off food, fuel, and medical supplies to the region’s more than two million residents. This marked the longest siege in its 17-month military campaign against Hamas, with no indication that it will be lifted.
Aid organisations said they are stretching their supplies as far as possible but warn of an imminent surge in severe hunger and malnutrition. Without an urgent resumption of aid deliveries, food will eventually run out entirely, as local food production has been largely destroyed by the war.
” We depend entirely on this aid box,” said Shorouq Shamlakh, a mother of three collecting her family’s monthly food ration at a UN distribution centre in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. To make the food last, she and her children have reduced their meals. ” If this closes, who else will provide us with food? “
The World Food Programme ( WFP ) has confirmed that flour stocks will last only until Tuesday, keeping 800,000 people supplied with bread for just a few more days. Overall food supplies could be exhausted in two weeks. As a “last resort”, the WFP has set aside emergency stocks of fortified biscuits, enough for 415,000 people.
Meanwhile, hospitals are rationing painkillers and antibiotics, and aid groups are struggling to decide where to distribute already scarce fuel, between transporting supplies, baking bread, purifying water, or keeping hospital equipment running.
” We have to make impossible choices. Everything is needed,” said Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam International’s Gaza response leader, speaking from Deir al-Balah. ” It’s extremely hard to prioritize. “
Renewed Israeli offensive
Since resuming military operations on 18 March, Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health officials. The UN says humanitarian facilities have also been hit, and fresh evacuation orders have displaced another 140,000 people.
Despite this, Israel has not reinstated the system allowing aid groups to notify the military of their movements, leaving them vulnerable to bombardment. As a result, some organisations have halted essential services, including water deliveries and child nutrition programmes.
Soaring food prices
During the 42-day ceasefire that began in mid-January, aid organisations were able to bring in significant amounts of food, while commercial markets also saw an influx of supplies. But since 2 March, Israel has cut off all food imports, stating that the siege aims to pressure Hamas into accepting changes to a ceasefire deal and releasing more hostages.
Now, fresh produce is almost entirely absent from Gaza’s markets, and essential food prices have soared. A kilo of onions costs the equivalent of$ 14, while tomatoes are selling for$ 6 per kilo, if they are available at all. Cooking gas prices have risen thirty times, forcing families to scavenge for firewood.
” It’s totally insane,” said Abeer al-Aker, a teacher and mother of three in Gaza City. ” No food, no services. … I believe that the famine has started again. “
UN struggles amid high demand
To sustain bakeries and free kitchens, the UN has cut food rations by half, said Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ). But while the number of free meals has increased by 25 % to 940,000 meals per day, the rate at which supplies are being used up has also accelerated.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, is also running out of food.
Gaza’s main public soup kitchen, Gaza Soup Kitchen, has been forced to adjust its menus due to shortages. “
International response and desperation
Unlike in October 2023, when US pressure forced Israel to lift an earlier two-week blockade, Washington has so far supported Israel’s current siege. Rights groups have condemned the tactic as a” starvation policy” and suggested it could constitute a war crime.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar insisted that” Israel is acting in accordance with international law,” and accused Hamas of diverting aid. He gave no indication that the blockade would be eased, claiming that the supplies brought in during the ceasefire were still sufficient.
However, aid groups report growing desperation among Gaza’s population. Save the Children has been forced to suspend its child nutrition programmes due to the risks of moving aid workers.
” The world has lost its compass,” said UNRWA’s Sam Rose. ” There’s just a feeling here that anything could happen, and it still wouldn’t be enough for the world to say, this is enough. “
