Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has reached a terrifying new level, with the total shutdown of bakeries marking a deliberate policy of starvation imposed by the Israeli blockade. For over a month, the occupation has sealed border crossings, preventing the entry of flour, fuel, and essential aid, leaving more than two million Palestinians on the brink of famine.

The World Food Programme confirmed that all 25 bakeries it supported have ceased operations, as flour stocks have completely run out. Before the siege tightened, these bakeries provided affordable bread for thousands of families, but now, desperation has taken over. The price of flour has skyrocketed beyond reach, and long queues at the few remaining food sources offer little hope. A Gaza resident, exhausted by hunger, described her ordeal: “I used to stand in line from dawn till sunset for a single bundle of bread. Now, there’s nothing left.”

The shutdown of bakeries has also crippled charitable kitchens that once provided meals to displaced families. With food supplies running out and humanitarian workers unable to reach those in need, the crisis is worsening by the hour. Hospitals, already overwhelmed with the wounded, are now struggling with medicine shortages, while families displaced by relentless Israeli attacks are left without food, shelter, or medical care.

Palestinian officials have condemned the blockade as a systematic act of collective punishment, warning that Gaza is experiencing “the worst stage of the humanitarian catastrophe.” The ongoing use of food and medicine as weapons of war has sparked international outrage, but global inaction has only emboldened the Israeli occupation to continue its siege.

With more than 80% of Gaza’s population reliant on humanitarian aid, the situation is unsustainable. Urgent international intervention is needed before the man-made famine unfolding in Gaza becomes irreversible.