On Friday, the World Food Programme announced it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens preparing hot meals in Gaza, which are expected to be completely gone within days, as Israel continues to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into the enclave.
The UN agency warned that it may be forced to end critical assistance to families unless urgent action is taken.
“The situation inside the Gaza Strip has once again reached a breaking point: people are running out of ways to cope, and the fragile gains made during the short ceasefire have unravelled,” it said.
The kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance in Gaza for weeks, representing a critical lifeline even though they reached just half the population with only a quarter of their daily food needs.
WFP also supported 25 bakeries, which all fully closed on 31 March as wheat flour and cooking fuel ran out. Furthermore, food parcels distributed to families, containing two weeks of rations, were exhausted that same week.
No humanitarian or commercial supplies have entered Gaza for more than seven weeks as all main border points remain closed. WFP said the closure is the longest that Gaza has faced, and it is exacerbating already fragile markets and food systems.
Food prices have skyrocketed 1,400 per cent compared to the ceasefire period earlier in the year, while essential food commodities are in short supply.
Meanwhile, more than 116,000 metric tonnes of food assistance – enough to feed a million people for up to four months – are ready and waiting to be brought into Gaza by WFP and partners as soon as borders reopen.
“WFP urges all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians and allow aid to enter Gaza immediately and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law,” the agency said.
The UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory highlighted the deteriorating situation in both Gaza and the West Bank in a statement published on Friday.
It said that over the last 18 months, the lives of 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza have been devasted by hostilities, severe restrictions on humanitarian assistance, and the destruction of nearly all essential infrastructure.
“Since the collapse of the ceasefire, and during the past week in particular, Israeli attacks on Palestinians have accelerated, claiming the lives of countless civilians and further risking the complete destruction of what little infrastructure remains.”
Displacement orders and “Israeli’s renewed complete blockade of the Gaza Strip” have further exacerbated the situation.
The statement noted that “as the population becomes increasingly desperate due to the scarcity of food and other vital provisions, social unrest is deepening further, with frequent reports of disputes breaking out within the community involving the use of firearms.”
This is unfolding “in an environment where the law enforcement and justice system has been systematically dismantled by Israeli attacks and the targeting of civilian officials of the local administration.”
The Israeli military also continues to target civilian infrastructure in Gaza that is critical to survival.
Between 21 and 22 April, deliberate and coordinated attacks across three governorates destroyed 36 heavy machines used in humanitarian relief operations, such as excavators, water trucks, and sewer suction tanks.
Their destruction “is likely to significantly hinder rescue operations, including retrieval of the injured and killed from under the rubble, clearance of debris to allow the movement of ambulances, as well as delivery of safe drinking water, solid waste collection, and the operation of sewage systems – further risking outbreaks of disease.”
