Gaza: WFP to Run Out of Food in 10 Days, Community Kitchens Close Amid Israeli Blockade
Gaza (Quds News Network)- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that its remaining food stock in Gaza could run out in about 10 days, leaving hundreds of thousands without meals, as several community kitchens are forced to close due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.
The WFP said its flour supply in Gaza – where Israel has blocked aid from entering for over four weeks – can sustain bakeries serving 800,000 people only until Tuesday. Without restocking, overall food supplies could be exhausted within 10 days.
As a “last resort” once all other food is exhausted, it has emergency stocks of fortified nutritional biscuits for 415,000 people.
“WFP urges all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians, the protection of humanitarian workers and UN personnel, and access for aid to enter Gaza immediately,” the agency said in a statement.
Staff at the community kitchen, run by the Wefaq Association for Women and Childcare (WEFAQ), said they have been forced to stop preparing hot meals for displaced Palestinians because they have no means to cook with.
“We have returned to a more difficult situation than before… Nothing has entered Gaza, neither food supplies, gas, nor flour: nothing at all. Many organisations have stopped working because there is basically no gas or firewood [to use] as fuel for cooking,” Buthaina Subeh, director of WEFAQ, said in a statement.
“There are calls from women and families who are now suffering from hunger; children screaming from hunger because there is no food,” she added.
The UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, also announced that at least 10 kitchens across Gaza have been forced to shut down because of depleted fuel supplies as well as danger from Israeli attacks.
On March 18, Israel renewed its assault on the Gaza Strip and launched a new ground invasion across the enclave last week. Since the resumption of bombardments, more than 900 people have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children. This brings the total death toll since the war began on October 7, 2023, to over 50,200.
On March 1, Israel closed all crossings leading to Gaza, blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid, including food, fuel, and medicine, worsening the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
