All bakeries supported by World Food Program in Gaza closed due to lack of flour, fuel

The UN World Food Program (WFP) early Wednesday announced that all bakeries it supports in the impoverished and war-devastated Gaza Strip were forced to shut down due to the continued Israeli closure of the crossings, depriving the Palestinians in Gaza of basic food and aid items.

"All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to lack of fuel and flour," WFP said in a statement on X.

It also warned that its hot meal program for people in Gaza will only "last two weeks maximum."

"WFP will distribute its last food parcels in the next two days," the UN organization added.

On Tuesday, the UN dismissed Israeli claims that there is enough food in the Gaza Strip, calling the assertion "ridiculous" as humanitarian supplies run dangerously low.

"As far as the UN (is) concerned, that's ridiculous. I mean, we are at the tail end of our supplies, of the UN, that came in through the humanitarian route," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

Israel began a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza on March 18 and has killed since more than 1,000 victims and injured over 2,000, shattering a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Before the resumption of its genocide in Gaza, Israel also closed Gaza crossings in early March, preventing entry of humanitarian aid and goods to people in the Palestinian enclave.

More than 50,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel's military onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.