All bakeries in Gaza forced to close due to lack of flour, diesel in month-long blockade

Sara Jabakhanji · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 12:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes ago

Bakeries successful the Gaza Strip shuttered Tuesday aft moving out of flour and diesel to operate, arsenic a month-long Israeli blockade connected nutrient and assistance entering the territory remains successful place.

Abdel Nasser Al-Ajrami, caput of the Bakery Owners Association successful the Gaza Strip, said the closure of remaining 19 bakeries — which relied connected enactment from the World Food Program (WFP) — meant determination were nary much operating bakeries in the territory.

"We telephone connected the satellite to unit the [Israeli] concern to unfastened the crossings to forestall the famine from worsening successful the Strip," Al-Ajrami said successful a statement.

Amjad Al-Shawa, wide manager of the Palestinian NGO web successful Gaza, said the bakeries were forced to adjacent Tuesday citing a deficiency of flour and diesel.

Al-Shawa said the territory has entered the "worst stage" of the war, arsenic the suspension connected assistance and goods entering continues to worsen conditions for its colonisation that has again been displaced and nether Israeli bombardment.

"Gaza is entering the astir captious signifier of its humanitarian catastrophe," Al-Shawa told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife connected Tuesday.

"We are informing that this volition impact the lives of Gazans — chiefly children, women and elders." 

Aid has not entered Gaza for 4 weeks

Since March 2, Israel has not allowed humanitarian assistance to participate Gaza, saying it is intended to unit Palestinian militant radical Hamas to merchandise its remaining hostages — a maneuver that rights groups accidental amounts to a warfare crime.

The four-week-long closure has efficaciously unopen disconnected each sources of food, fuel, medicine and different supplies from reaching civilians successful Gaza — the longest full blockade yet of the 17-month warfare with Hamas, with nary motion of it ending. A dire shortage of cleanable drinking h2o is besides plaguing the war-torn enclave aft the past h2o desalination works was chopped disconnected from Israel's energy supply, forcing it to trust connected back-up generators and star power.

For weeks, UN agencies person sounded the alarm, warning that nutrient is moving retired and a imaginable famine is looming if the blockade is not lifted to reach roughly 2 cardinal Palestinians crossed the enclave. Last month, six bakeries were forced to adjacent owed to the imposed blockade.

Officials are expecting further closures of assemblage kitchens — which nutrient hundreds of thousands of meals to families successful Gaza — successful the adjacent respective days, Al-Shawa said.

The bakeries, which were forced to close, were serving hundreds of thousands of people, according to an interior memo circulated among assistance groups connected Monday.

The WFP said that owed to the deficiency of humanitarian aid, its supplies are moving retired and it doesn't person capable wheat flour needed to marque bread, adding that it's distributed each disposable nutrient rations.

Aid groups pass of catastrophic surge successful terrible hunger 

The UN bureau said that it was prioritizing its remaining stocks to supply exigency nutrient assistance and grow blistery repast distribution. Aid workers person stretched supplies, but warned of a catastrophic surge successful terrible hunger and malnutrition.

Despite assistance radical warnings, Israel denies that determination is simply a shortage successful the territory, saying enough nutrient entered the Gaza Strip during its six-week ceasefire with Hamas for "a agelong play of time."

COGAT, the Israeli subject assemblage successful complaint of civilian affairs successful the Palestinian territories, said Tuesday that much than 25,000 trucks entered Gaza during the ceasefire, carrying astir 450,000 tons of aid. It said that magnitude represented astir a 3rd of what has entered during the full war.

WATCH | Families accidental finding food successful Gaza becoming much challenging: 

Markets mostly emptied weeks ago, and UN agencies accidental the supplies they built up during the truce are moving out. Gaza is heavy reliant connected planetary aid, due to the fact that the warfare has destroyed astir each of its nutrient accumulation capability.

Mohammed al-Kurd, a begetter of 12, said his children spell to furniture without dinner.

"We archer them to beryllium diligent and that we volition bring flour successful the morning," helium told The Associated Press.

"We prevarication to them and to ourselves."

The warfare began erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting astir 1,200 radical and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas is inactive holding 59 captives — 24 of whom are believed to beryllium live — aft astir of the remainder were released successful ceasefire agreements oregon different deals.

Israel's violative has killed much than 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds killed successful strikes since the ceasefire ended, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Thousands much are believed to inactive beryllium nether rubble.