Woman and two girls crushed to death outside a Gaza bakery because of food shortages, officials say

Two children and a woman were crushed to death on Friday as a crowd of Palestinians rushed to get bread at a bakery in the Gaza Strip, as the food crisis worsened in the war-ravaged territory, medical officials said.

The bodies of two girls, aged 13 and 17, and the 50-year-old woman were taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where a doctor confirmed that they were dead due to the crowding in al- Aqsa suffocated -Banna Bakery. An Associated Press video showed their bodies lying side by side on the floor of the hospital morgue.

According to official Israeli figures, the flow of food allowed by Israel into the Gaza Strip has fallen in the past two months to almost its lowest level in nearly 14 months of war. According to UN and aid agencies, hunger and desperation are increasing among Gaza’s population, who rely almost entirely on humanitarian aid for their survival.

Some bakeries in Gaza were closed for several days last week due to a lack of flour. AP footage taken last week after it reopened showed large crowds crowded into a bakery in Deir al-Balah, shouting and jostling.

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip rely heavily on bakeries and charity kitchens, and many can only provide their families with one meal a day.

In Lebanon, thousands of displaced people returned to their homes this week after a… A ceasefire was announced between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group.

Many found their homes reduced to rubble after heavy Israeli airstrikes leveled entire neighborhoods in eastern and southern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut, over the past two months. Almost 1.2 million people were displaced.

The ceasefire was the first major sign of progress in the region since the war began more than a year ago, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But he doesn’t deal with the devastating War in Gaza. For Palestinians in Gaza and the families of hostages held in the area, the ceasefire represented another missed opportunity to end nearly 14 months of fighting.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 44,000 people were killed and more than 104,000 injured. Israel has destroyed large parts of the Gaza Strip and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million people.

Anarchy reigns in Gaza, says the United Nations

The United Nations said on Friday that the Gaza Strip had descended into anarchy, with rising hunger, rampant looting and a rising number of rapes in shelters, while public order was collapsing.

Palestinians are suffering “on a scale that must be seen to be truly understood,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.N. human rights office in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement after concluding his latest visit to the devastated Palestinian territories.

“This time I was particularly worried about the spread of hunger,” Sunghay said via video feed from Amman at a news conference in Geneva.

“The collapse of public order and security is exacerbating the situation with rampant looting and fighting over scarce resources.

“The anarchy in Gaza that we warned about months ago is here,” he said. “Totally predictable, totally predictable. And like all the death and destruction I have seen on my past trips to Gaza, completely avoidable.”

As the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said his administration would do so quickly start “another push”. with international partners to reach an agreement to end the war in Gaza.

Mr Biden, who has less than two months left in office, said in a social media post on Wednesday that his administration would work with Israel and other partners in the region in the coming days to “enforce a ceasefire in Gaza with the (Israeli) release of hostages and an end to the war without Hamas in power.”