3:23 a.m. ET, November 8, 2023
The lack of essential goods is forcing all bakeries in northern Gaza to close, the UN agency said
From CNN’s Manveena Suri A Palestinian man and his son sit with a bag of bread outside a destroyed bakery in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on November 4. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
All bakeries in northern Gaza have been forced to close due to shortages of vital supplies, a United Nations agency said on Wednesday, as desperate civilians struggle to access the staple bread amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive.
In a daily update, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that “bakeries were not active in the north due to shortages of fuel, water and wheat flour, as well as the damage suffered by many.”
Wheat flour is reportedly no longer available in northern Gaza, according to OCHA, which said some people had resorted to desperate measures.
“During the day, many people desperate for food broke into the last three bakeries with remaining stocks of wheat flour and stole about 38 tons,” OCHA said.
Access to bread also remains a challenge in southern Gaza, with the only operating mill in the enclave unable to grind wheat due to a lack of electricity and fuel.
According to OCHA, Gaza has been experiencing power outages since October 11 after Israel cut off electricity and fuel supplies, which in turn led to the closure of the coastal strip’s only power plant.
The import of fuel remains banned by the Israeli authorities. They argue that Hamas – the militant Islamist movement that rules Gaza – would steal any fuel that enters Gaza and use it for military purposes.
According to OCHA, eleven bakeries have been hit and destroyed since October 7, with only one bakery contracted by the World Food Program and eight other bakeries in southern Gaza temporarily supplying bread to shelters.
When bread is available, people wait in line for hours, exposing themselves to possible Israeli airstrikes, OCHA said.
Some 9,000 tons of wheat grain are stored in mills in Gaza, but a significant portion is inaccessible due to destruction and security concerns, as well as fuel and electricity shortages, it said.