Israeli restrictions threaten to halt the services of the World Central Kitchen organization, which provides one million meals daily to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The World Kitchen, which began operating in Gaza during the Israeli war of attrition, stated that the number of trucks entering Gaza is only a fraction of what is needed. It indicated that it requires 20 trucks daily to maintain its current number of meals. The World Kitchen added that it is continuing its food operations, but cannot continue indefinitely without a regular and sustained flow of supplies.
The World Kitchen provides approximately one million free meals daily to Palestinians amidst a severe humanitarian crisis and acute food shortages, according to previous statements. During the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israel deliberately killed a number of kitchen staff members.
Gaza’s government confirmed that Israeli restrictions have reduced the number of trucks allowed to bring in food supplies from 25 per day to only 5, “severely weakening the kitchen’s operational capacity and threatening the continuity of its food services, which benefit thousands of citizens daily.”
The statement continued, “It has been confirmed that the kitchen is under pressure to purchase raw materials from within Israel, after previously receiving supplies via shipments from Egypt. This changes the nature of the humanitarian aid, increases its cost, and creates additional obstacles to the continuation of relief work according to previous mechanisms.”
The government of Gaza further stated that the Gaza Strip faces indicators of a worsening humanitarian crisis if the restrictions on the flow of aid continue. The office stressed that the responsibility for preventing this crisis lies with the occupying power, which is restricting humanitarian supplies in clear violation of international humanitarian law and its obligations towards the civilian population.
Hunger grows as hopes of reunions diminish
The 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza are entirely dependent on aid after the genocide left them impoverished.
Salem Barabakh, 40, from Khan Younis, sits at the entrance of his tent with six children beside him. They sometimes shout, sometimes play, and he tries to talk to them. He says, “There are no homes left for us to live in—tents, poverty, hunger, and exhaustion. After the war ended, nothing changed. We’re still hungry and searching for food aid. We wait for any kitchen to distribute meals, including the World Kitchen.”
“Now a new war has started with Iran, and the whole world is ablaze. Now the crossings are closed, and life in Gaza is tied to Israel’s security, with no regard for two million citizens, most of them children. I feel oppressed and saddened by this dire situation. We have children who are hungry and want food, and I’m unemployed and in need of food aid. Now the World Kitchen has stopped providing services. Who will feed us now? I don’t know. What have we gained from these endless wars?”
From the very first day of the Israeli-American war on Iran, the Israeli army announced the closure of the Rafah crossing after it had been open for nearly a month.
Those stranded in Egypt had grown accustomed to returning to their families, and although the number allowed back was very small, it offered them a glimmer of hope. After its re-closure, a sense of despair has gripped the families of those who were prevented from returning to Gaza as a result of this war.
Hani Suleiman, 38, from Khan Younis, has been waiting for his mother and sister to return to Gaza since the repatriation of stranded Palestinians began. He says, “Since January 2024, my mother and sister have been in Egypt for medical treatment and have endured difficult circumstances alone there. We supported each other, hoping for a peaceful return so we could be reunited. I miss my mother terribly. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter who doesn’t know her grandmother.”
“We had hoped the crossing would reopen and they could return, and that happened a month ago when the stranded Palestinians began returning to Gaza. I was waiting for the moment I could embrace my mother, but then the new war started and the crossing closed again. I feel immense despair, and my mother has been crying since it closed again.”
From BT News via This RSS Feed.