AhlulBayt News Agency: Five out of six bakeries in the northern Gaza Strip have shut down due to Israel’s blockade on the entry of fuel and raw materials needed to produce bread.
“Our bakery is the only one still functioning in the area and is likely to close within a week if Israel continues to block the entry of fuel and essential supplies,” Kamel Ajjour, owner of a bakery in northern Gaza, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.
Ajjour added that no fuel has been delivered to bakeries in northern Gaza for more than 10 days.
“The supply of critical ingredients such as flour, sugar, and yeast has been significantly reduced for nearly a month,” he said, warning of a severe crisis if his bakery also halted operations in northern Gaza.
The owner of the bakery appealed to international organizations, including the UN, to immediately intervene to prevent the outbreak of famine in northern Gaza and for the swift delivery of fuel and essential materials to sustain bread production in the enclave.
In the north of the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have been hit hardest by hunger with residents saying acute shortages of vegetables, fruit and meat means they are surviving on bread alone.
For about 11 months, the Israeli occupation has imposed a tight siege on the Gaza Strip, extremely limiting the flow of life-saving essential food and medical items.
Along with the relentless bombardments, and as part of a policy that amounts to collective punishment of civilians, the Israeli military has used starvation of the population as a weapon of war, according to independent UN investigators.
The hunger crisis peaked in March, with dozens of children dying from malnutrition and residents being forced to eat grass and tree leaves, as Israeli forces repeatedly killed aid-seeking people in northern Gaza.
The UN has long warned that famine is looming in Gaza, with 1.1 million people – about half of the population – facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
A declaration of famine could be used as evidence at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Israel faces allegations of genocide.
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“Our bakery is the only one still functioning in the area and is likely to close within a week if Israel continues to block the entry of fuel and essential supplies,” Kamel Ajjour, owner of a bakery in northern Gaza, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.
Ajjour added that no fuel has been delivered to bakeries in northern Gaza for more than 10 days.
“The supply of critical ingredients such as flour, sugar, and yeast has been significantly reduced for nearly a month,” he said, warning of a severe crisis if his bakery also halted operations in northern Gaza.
The owner of the bakery appealed to international organizations, including the UN, to immediately intervene to prevent the outbreak of famine in northern Gaza and for the swift delivery of fuel and essential materials to sustain bread production in the enclave.
In the north of the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have been hit hardest by hunger with residents saying acute shortages of vegetables, fruit and meat means they are surviving on bread alone.
For about 11 months, the Israeli occupation has imposed a tight siege on the Gaza Strip, extremely limiting the flow of life-saving essential food and medical items.
Along with the relentless bombardments, and as part of a policy that amounts to collective punishment of civilians, the Israeli military has used starvation of the population as a weapon of war, according to independent UN investigators.
The hunger crisis peaked in March, with dozens of children dying from malnutrition and residents being forced to eat grass and tree leaves, as Israeli forces repeatedly killed aid-seeking people in northern Gaza.
The UN has long warned that famine is looming in Gaza, with 1.1 million people – about half of the population – facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
A declaration of famine could be used as evidence at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Israel faces allegations of genocide.
/129