Israel-Gaza War Cuts Food Aid, Bakeries Shut \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The U.N. World Food Program has shut down all remaining bakeries in Gaza due to dwindling supplies and a lack of flour and cooking oil, deepening the territory’s humanitarian crisis. As Israel resumes military operations and restricts aid, food access has sharply declined, leaving millions at risk of starvation.
Gaza’s Aid Crisis Worsens: Quick Looks
- U.N. food agency halts all bakery operations in Gaza
- Lack of flour and oil amid border closure cited
- WFP bakery shutdown affects hundreds of thousands relying on bread
- Israel claims enough aid entered Gaza during prior truce
- U.N. officials call food shortage “critical” and worsening
- WFP prioritizing remaining supplies for emergency meals
- Israeli airstrikes have resumed, killing over 1,000 in two weeks
- Health Ministry reports 42 more deaths in 24 hours
- Palestinian journalist, family killed in Israeli strike
- Over 50,000 Palestinians have died since war began in October
Deep Look
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened further on Tuesday as the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced it has closed all remaining operational bakeries in the besieged enclave. The move comes as food stocks in the territory near depletion after Israel sealed off all crossings nearly a month ago, following the breakdown of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric called the situation “very critical,” describing Gaza as being at “the tail end of our supplies.” With no access to flour or cooking oil, WFP has been forced to shut down 19 remaining bakeries, after closing six earlier in the month. The bakeries had been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands, offering the most basic food item—bread—to a population now largely reliant on humanitarian aid for survival.
According to a WFP memo distributed to aid agencies, baking operations can no longer continue, and remaining resources will be diverted to emergency hot meal programs and food parcel distribution. Spokespeople for the agency have not issued additional comments since the closures were confirmed.
The situation is exacerbated by a return to full-scale Israeli military operations, particularly in southern Gaza’s Rafah region, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued repeated evacuation warnings. At least 140,000 Palestinians have been ordered to flee, a logistical and humanitarian nightmare in a territory already bursting with over 2 million displaced residents.
Israel, which claims that 25,000 aid trucks entered Gaza during the six-week truce, has argued that sufficient food was delivered to last “a long time.” That claim was dismissed as “ridiculous” by U.N. officials and humanitarian organizations who say distribution has been obstructed, and that the aid quantity does not match the need or reach all areas effectively.
“Markets have been empty for weeks,” said Dujarric. “Gaza’s population is being squeezed between bombs and starvation.”
The closure of the bakeries is especially alarming because it removes one of the last stable sources of nutrition for Gaza’s population. Gaza’s domestic food production has collapsed amid relentless bombing, a shattered economy, and devastated infrastructure. Families like that of Mohammed al-Kurd, a father of 12, now rely on nothing but hope and empty promises. “We tell them to be patient,” he said of his children, “but we’re lying to them and to ourselves.”
Meanwhile, the toll from renewed Israeli strikes continues to rise. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that in the past 24 hours, at least 42 bodies and more than 180 injured arrived at hospitals. Since the ceasefire was broken two weeks ago, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, adding to the staggering death toll of more than 50,000 since October 2023.
That war began after Hamas-led militants launched a deadly incursion into southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s military response has included relentless airstrikes, a ground invasion, and the near-total siege of Gaza. Israel maintains that it has killed approximately 20,000 Hamas fighters, though no independent verification has been provided, and the civilian-to-combatant ratio remains heavily contested.
Tensions remain high around stalled ceasefire negotiations. Israel has conditioned renewed talks on the release of remaining hostages—59 are still believed to be held, with 24 thought to be alive—and has demanded that Hamas disarm and leave Gaza, demands not included in earlier agreements. Hamas, meanwhile, is pushing for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and Israeli withdrawal in exchange for the remaining hostages.
Amid the violence and collapsing humanitarian systems, tragedy struck again with the killing of Palestinian journalist Mohamed Salah Bardawil, a reporter with the Hamas-linked Aqsa Radio, who died alongside his wife and three children in an Israeli strike on their home in southern Gaza early Tuesday. The attack also claimed the lives of several extended family members and destroyed the building.
Photos from the scene show a flattened residential structure, with bloodstained rubble, children’s toys, and schoolbooks scattered amid the debris. The journalist was reportedly the nephew of senior Hamas political figure Salah Bardawil, who was also killed in an Israeli strike last month.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 170 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began, making it one of the deadliest conflicts for journalists in modern history.
As aid groups struggle to maintain even minimal levels of support, and civilians face both military and humanitarian catastrophe, global leaders are under pressure to reinstate a ceasefire and restore safe aid corridors. But with political talks stalled and Israeli ground operations poised to expand, relief remains distant, and the people of Gaza continue to suffer in isolation.
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