Two children and a woman were crushed on Friday as a crowd of Palestinians rushed to collect bread from a bakery in the Gaza Strip, amid a worsening food crisis 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 Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where a doctor confirmed that They had died of suffocation due to the crowds at the hospital. -Banna Bakery. Associated Press video shows their bodies placed next to each other on the floor inside the hospital morgue.
The flow of food allowed into Gaza by Israel fell to its lowest level in nearly 14 months of war over the past two months, according to official Israeli figures. U.N. and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among Gaza’s population, almost all of whom rely on humanitarian aid to survive.
Some bakeries in Gaza were closed for several days last week due to a flour shortage. AP footage taken last week after they reopened showed large crowds of people crowding, shouting and pushing, at a bakery in Deir al-Balah.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rely heavily on charity bakeries and kitchens, with many able to guarantee only one meal a day for their families.
Abdel Karim Hana/AP
In Lebanon, thousands of displaced people began returning to their homes this week after a the ceasefire has been announced between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.
Many have seen their homes reduced to rubble after intense Israeli airstrikes over the past two months razed entire neighborhoods in eastern and southern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut. Nearly 1.2 million people have been displaced.
The truce 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 it does not address the devastating consequences of the war. war in Gaza. For Palestinians in Gaza and the families of hostages held in the territory, the ceasefire represented another missed opportunity to end the fighting that has lasted for nearly 14 months.
More than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 injured, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million residents.
Gaza is in anarchy, says UN
The United Nations said Friday that the Gaza Strip had fallen into anarchy, with rising hunger, rampant looting and a growing number of rapes in shelters as law and order collapsed.
Palestinians are suffering “on a scale that must be seen to be truly understood,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the United Nations Human Rights Office in the Palestinian Territories, said in a statement after concluding his latest visit to the devastated Palestinian territory.
“This time I was particularly alarmed by the prevalence of hunger,” Sunghay told a press briefing in Geneva, via video link from Amman.
“The breakdown of public order and security is exacerbating the situation with endemic looting and struggles over scarce resources.
“The anarchy in Gaza that we warned about months ago is here,” he said. “Entirely predictable, entirely predictable. And as with all the death and destruction I have seen on my previous trips to Gaza, entirely avoidable.”
As the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect Wednesday, President Joe Biden said his administration would move quickly launch “another push” with international partners to reach an agreement ending 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 in the coming days with Israel and other regional partners to “achieve a ceasefire.” fire in Gaza with [Israeli] release of hostages and end of the war without Hamas in power. »
