UN food agency says its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel's
blockade
[April 26, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and LEE KEATH
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The World Food Program says its food
stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old
blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians in the territory.
The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to
charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens
are expected to run out of food in the coming days.
Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on
charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under
Israel’s blockade, according to the U.N. The WFP has been supporting 47
kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer
Etefa told The Associated Press.
It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating
in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are
the major ones in Gaza.
Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to
Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives
two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says
the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds.
Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a
potential war crime.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid in
Gaza, declined to comment on the amount of supplies remaining in the
territory. It has previously said Gaza had enough aid after a surge in
distribution during the ceasefire. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid
for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant
diversion, saying the U.N. strictly monitors distribution. They say the
aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense
needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.
With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from
markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many
vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming
unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on
canned goods.
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Palestinian children receive donated food at a distribution center
in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel
Kareem Hana)
Malnutrition is already surging. The U.N. said it identified 3,700
children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the
month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid
groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some
22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements
are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.
Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped
distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With
stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can
only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.
World Central Kitchen — a U.S. charity that is one of the biggest in
Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP — said Thursday that its kitchens
had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned
vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping
pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery
still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.
The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza
if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for
four months.
Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign,
vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern
Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and
children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not
distinguish between civilians and combatants.
In the Oct. 7 attack, militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most
were released in ceasefire deals.
___
Keath reported from Cairo. AP correspondent Julia Frankel in
Jersualem con
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