Gaza City: The World Food Programme (WFP) has revealed that all bakeries in central Gaza have closed due to a severe shortage of supplies. Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations, stated that bread, often the only food available to many people in Gaza, is now out of reach.
According to Jordan News Agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned of a worsening food situation across the Gaza Strip. It highlighted that two-thirds of all children treated for acute malnutrition in outpatient clinics since the beginning of 2024 were recorded in the last five months alone. Haq reported that between November 1 and 23, over 3,400 children were admitted to outpatient clinics for treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
Despite ongoing challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partner, the International Relief Organization, have recently established a new stabilization center in Deir al-Balah to treat severe acute malnutrition. Currently, Gaza has only four
operational stabilization centers: one in Khan Yunis, one in Gaza City, and two in Deir al-Balah. The center in northern Gaza at Kamal Adwan Hospital has remained closed since the onset of the Israeli blockade over seven weeks ago, despite increasing needs in the area.
Recent reports from UN health sector partners indicate that only five out of 486 health service points in Gaza were fully operational last month. More than half of these points are completely out of service, with 233 operating partially. Haq emphasized that the healthcare sector in Gaza is facing acute shortages of medicines, supplies, fuel, food, and water. Nevertheless, health partners have managed to deliver supplies and are working to establish additional health service points in displacement sites in Gaza City, following a multi-partner assessment conducted over the weekend.