Prices of basic foods surge, reduced inventory of medical supplies and much-needed cuts to threaten the abused territory under new catastrophic conditions for Gaza, Gaza, Palestinians and international aid officials.
Humanitarian organizations, including the World Food Programme and Ungra, provide food and services to two million Palestinians throughout Gaza, have now distributed their last flour and other food to dozens of community kitchens on the territory that provide basic meals for those without other options.
During the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the aid organization’s warehouses were filled and effective in mid-January and ended in early March. They are empty now.
“There is nothing to give them right now, so once the last supplies run out, the kitchen has to be closed,” said a senior UN official. “At the moment, people are keeping up pretty good, but from other crises we know that when things get worse, they get worse very quickly and we’re not far from that time.”
Within hours of the ceasefire collapsed about two months ago, Israel blocked food, fuel, medicine or other items entering Gaza. Dozens of bread served for thousands of bread have been closed.
The 47 community kitchens that offer only lentils, regular pasta or rice have been reduced.
“These people who depend on us are threatened by hunger.
Markets across Gaza are almost naked, and for the vast majority of people, anything sold is too expensive.
Since the end of the ceasefire, the price of a kilogram of tomatoes has tripled to $8, with sugar rising seven times and flour 10 to 15 times. Meat or dairy products are not available.
Um Aboud, 45, an academic and journalist in Gaza City, said: “We have two meals a day, sometimes only one meal. We have only a small amount of food left.
“Living conditions are extremely difficult. Hospitals are destroyed, there is no treatment or medicine available. No clean water or electricity. It surrounds us from all directions. Gaza has become a place of disease. People are dying slowly, as if we were sentenced to death.”
Now, almost 70% of Gaza people cover evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, or part of an expanded buffer controlled by Israeli forces. Since the collapse of the ceasefire, 400,000 people have been displaced.
The claim that Hamas usually steals aid, distributes it to fighter planes or sells it to raise vital funds proves the lockdown. Aid officials in Gaza have denied any widespread theft in recent months.
In a sprawling tent camp outside the southern city of Khan Younis, Mariam al-Najjar and her mother-in-law prepared a meal of peas and carrots, some rice, spoons and spices for their 11-child family.
Najel said her family would have a meal of meat, plush vegetables or other traditional dishes on Friday before the war. “Now we eat peas and rice. We never ate canned peas before the war. Only in this war did we destroy our lives.”
The United Nations said it found that children with acute malnutrition increased by 80% in March compared with February.
UN officials said experts from the UN Hunger Monitoring System Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC) are preparing for a new assessment to be released in Gaza next month.
Medical supplies are also getting shorter and shorter. “Everything from sterile gloves to body bags needs to be replenished,” the ICRC said. “This is an ongoing challenge, especially a sharp one, as we unfortunately have remained shocking, including patients with severe injuries, which adds pressure on the system.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by an Israeli raid launched by Hamas in October 2023, in which militants killed more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and captured 250 hostages. Israeli officials said 59 hostages remained in Gaza, more than half of which were considered dead.
Israel said its blockade was also intended to force Hamas to release the hostages. Rights groups accuse Israel of using “hunger strategies” to endanger the entire population, thus making it a potential war crime.
The local health ministry said on Sunday that the remains of 51 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours in the past 24 hours.
The ministry said in its latest update that the overall loss includes nearly 700 bodies, which recently completed the document.
On Monday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the Chief Court of the United Nations will begin a hearing to determine whether Israel prohibits all cooperation with UNRWA in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Israel claims that Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA, and the allegation has been heavily controversial.
South Africa filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in December 2023, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies.
