Gaza Ministry of Social Development: We warn of unprecedented catastrophic humanitarian consequences threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced and affected families

Gaza Ministry of Social Development:

▪ We warn of unprecedented catastrophic humanitarian consequences threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced and affected families, following the forced shutdown of most bakeries in the Strip, and the refusal of the Israeli occupation to allow in flour shipments and essential food supplies needed to relieve the population.

▪ The continued prevention of the entry of flour and bakery operating supplies is a continuation of the systematic policy of starvation and the use of food as a weapon against unarmed civilians, which is causing the collapse of the last food defense line for needy families, children and women who depend entirely on what the relief system and international partners provide.

▪ We affirm that the stoppage of the bakeries is directly due to the occupation's withholding of flour shipments and the systematic prevention of supplies from entering, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

▪ We warn of the widening scope of famine and the complete lack of food security among the displaced and the poorest families, and the rise in rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children, patients and the elderly.

▪ We call on the United Nations, the international community and humanitarian organizations to exert immediate and serious pressure on the occupation to open the crossings, and to secure the safe and urgent flow of flour shipments without restriction or condition.

▪ We call on all international and regional relief institutions to redouble their efforts and secure immediate protection for the relief system to ensure the delivery of food aid to all those entitled to it in all areas of the Strip.

▪ We affirm the continuation of carrying out our national and humanitarian duty toward the sons and daughters of our people despite the harshness of the conditions and the lack of resources, and we appeal to the international community to break its silence and assume its moral and humanitarian responsibilities to save Gaza from the looming danger of famine.