How thousands are struggling to secure bread amidst the dire food shortages in Gaza

What does it feel like to wait for hours just to get something as basic as food. You should ask people living in Gaza. Masri waited in line for ages, but by the time it was her turn, the bread had run out. She fled her home in the northern Beit Hanun area to seek shelter at a school run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in this southern Gaza town, but has been finding it hard to get basic supplies. “Because of the chaos, my turn didn’t come,” she told AFP outside the bakery where huge crowds people come to seek bread as war-torn Gaza struggles with dire shortages of food, water and fuel. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that 10 of the 50 bakeries it supplies with flour, which helps to cut the skyrocketing cost of bread, have been hit by airstrikes, and fuel is running short for vehicles transporting grain to those that remain. Bread has been in high demand, with long lines at bakeries, and has become the main nourishment for many people at the shelters, which currently house more than 600,000 people, more than tripling their authorised capacity. **Also Read: It’s Getting Grimmer in Gaza: How many days of water, food, power left?** “Tens of thousands of people rely on small bakeries to find a loaf of bread to bring back to their families. People risk their lives and queue for hours, but they often go home empty-handed,” the WFP spokesperson said as reported by The Guardian. “Conditions in Gaza are desperate. Food and water are running out, shelters for displaced people are massively overcrowded and, without fuel, there is no electricity . Health services are collapsing,” the spokesperson added. Some can’t reach bakeries fearing death More than half of Gaza’s population — some 1.4 million people — have fled their homes since the war erupted on 7 October, with Israel relentlessly bombarding the territory after Hamas militants went on the rampage, killing 1,400 people in the worst attack in Israel’s history. Since then, medics in Hamas-run Gaza say more than 8,000 people have been killed, with the authorities saying tens of thousands of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, among them some 40 bakeries. Outside Al-Quds bakery in Rafah , an AFP journalist saw hundreds of people waiting. [caption id=“attachment_13316542” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Palestinian children wait for a food distribution in a displaced tent camp, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. AP[/caption] Mohammed Qaranawi, who is hosting 25 people in his home, said as well as the bombardments, the bakeries were also struggling with a dire lack of fuel. “You can wait in line for hours and in the end, you don’t get a turn to get bread,” he said. Abdul Nasser al-Ajrami, head of Gaza’s bakery association, said 60 per cent of businesses were out of action. **Also Read: ‘If we bathe, we won’t drink’: How Gazans are deprived of water amid war** “We’re struggling to provide flour, gas and electricity,” he said. “A lot of workers can’t reach bakeries because of the strikes and the risk of death,” he added. People queue from 5.00 am to get bread Bakery owner Suleiman al-Huli said he had witnessed some of the “most extreme” scenes since the Nakba of 1948 — when 760,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes during the war that accompanied Israel’s creation. Bakeries are not only struggling with a lack of flour but also from the chronic shortages of fuel. “I feel upset, I can’t give everyone bread. The bakery is hand-operated and produces 30 bundles (of pitta) an hour… this is much less than people need,” he said. One resident told AFP she had gone to three bakeries since dawn in search of bread. [caption id=“attachment_13316602” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Palestinians cook food for people displaced in the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah. AP[/caption] The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has described the conditions as “unimaginably desperate” after Israel cut normal supplies of food, water and power to Gaza, notably blocking fuel on grounds it could be exploited by Hamas for weapons and explosives. “WFP was relying on 23 bakeries to feed 220,000 people a day… only two are functional,” spokeswoman Shaza Moghraby told journalists. While limited aid convoys have reached Gaza — deemed woefully inadequate by the UN — no fuel has been brought in from neighbouring Egypt. Bakery worker Sami Salman al-Huli said thousands of people tended to gather outside the bakery from as early as 5.00 am (0300 GMT) in order to get bread. “We can only cover 300 people and the numbers are several times greater… I try to give people one bundle of bread (to share),” said the 30-year-old. As well as worrying about the vast needs, Huli also has to contend with the relentless strikes. “I’m afraid the bakery will be bombed, like bakeries were bombed in Gaza City and elsewhere,” he said. Food crisis in Palestine risks famine and sickness Shortages of medical supplies, food, drinking water, and electricity have put 2.3 million Gaza Palestinians at risk of famine and sickness in the aftermath of Hamas attacks on 7 October. Cindy McCain, the World Food Programme’s chief executive officer, told The Guardian that the organisation was looking for more bakeries to collaborate with but that fuel deliveries into Gaza were needed to keep them running. “Our teams are working to find more, but those we’ve spoken with say they’ve run out of fuel and are unable to bake any longer.” Many individuals in shelters rely solely on our bread. “Without fuel, this lifeline will be severed,” McCain added. According to the World Food Programme, nine trucks have entered Gaza since Egypt’s Rafah border gate opened last Saturday, while 141 more are still waiting. It was stated that 40 trucks per day are required to cross in order to meet basic demands. With inputs from AFP