Gaza (Quds News Network)- All bakeries in the Gaza Strip have been forced to close due to Israel’s blockade on food and essential supplies, amid ongoing bombardment that has killed over 1,000 Palestinians.
Abdel Nasser al-Ajrami, the head of Gaza’s bakery owners’ association, announced on Tuesday that bakeries had shut as a result of lack of fuel and flour.
“The World Food Programme [WFP] informed us today that flour had run out in its warehouses,” Ajrami said.
“Bakeries will no longer operate until the [Israeli] occupation opens the crossings and allows the necessary supplies to enter.”
The WFP supports the running of 19 bakeries in the enclave. Their closures will worsen a starvation and malnutrition crisis that has devastated Gaza’s two million residents.
Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that the WFP was closing its remaining 19 bakeries after shuttering six others last month. She said that hundreds of thousands of people relied on them.
For four weeks, since March 1, Israeli forces have closed off the supply of all sources of food, fuel, medicine and essentials into the Palestinian enclave. It’s the longest continuous such blockade since war began 18 months ago.
“All entry points into Gaza are closed. At the border, food is rotting. Medicine is expiring. Vital medical equipment is stuck,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief.
“If the basic principles of humanitarian law still count, the international community must act to uphold them.”
The four weeks coincided with the holy month of Ramadan and the festival of Eid al-Fitr.
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A WFP memo circulated to aid groups on Monday said that it could no longer operate its remaining bakeries, which produce the pita bread on which many rely. The UN agency said that it was prioritizing its remaining stocks to provide emergency food aid and expand hot meal distribution.
