Six bakeries in Khan Younis shut down
The abrupt cessation of all humanitarian aid to Gaza has been a devastating blow to millions of hungry and vulnerable Palestinians.
Signs of a crisis are starting to loom. For example, six bakeries in the city of Khan Younis, which thousands of families depend on, have suspended their services due to a lack of fuel.
It is worth remembering here that Netanyahu imposed this blockade to pressure Hamas, but it is civilians that are bearing the brunt of this political step. The Israeli prime minister also said during a cabinet meeting that there will be no free meals to the Gaza Strip.
UN agencies have repeatedly stressed the need for humanitarian aid to re-enter the Strip to address this crisis, which has no end in sight. The atmosphere could further deteriorate if there is no international intervention or agreement reached between Hamas and Israel in Cairo.
Israeli blockade of Gaza has ‘severe implications’ for Palestinians
Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, says people “are living in a very deep humanitarian catastrophe due to Israeli attacks and systemic destruction of the socioeconomic structure in Gaza”.
The Palestinian enclave’s population has become entirely dependent on humanitarian aid, which is quickly running out because of Israel’s total blockade with “severe implications” for the lives of Palestinians, he said.
Other than physical stressors, there are also the war’s psychological effects, especially for the tens of thousands of orphans in the Strip, Shawa told Al Jazeera.
Many NGOs now focus on delivering mental healthcare to children who have lost parents in Israeli attacks. However, dire humanitarian conditions and the aid blockade make their work “severely complicated”.
Palestinian children wait for a meal at a charity kitchen in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp
Gaza residents report hunger and hardship despite recent ceasefire
With the cutoff of all supplies to Gaza, Palestinians are reporting sharp price increases for dwindling items as fears grow again, in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“Since the ceasefire began, the situation has improved a little. But before that, the situation was very bad,” Fares al-Qeisi in the southern city of Khan Younis told AP news agency.
“I swear to God, one could not satisfy their hunger,” al-Qeisi said.
At least one killed in Gaza City
An Israeli military attack has killed at least one person and injured others in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, reports the Wafa news agency, quoting local medical sources.
In central Gaza, a drone attack took place near Maghazi camp, said Wafa, without reporting casualties.
Israeli military kills and wounds Palestinians in Gaza City
Two Palestinians were killed and an unknown number of others wounded in an Israeli army attack in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports.
Doctors at al-Ahli Arab Hospital described the condition of some of the injured as critical.
Israel commits daily violations of ceasefire with attacks
Earlier today, two Palestinian men were killed in the Shujayea neighbourhood by the Israeli army in a drone attack.
But this is not the only violation in the past 24 hours. At least five Palestinians were injured yesterday when Israeli forces dropped a bomb on a vehicle belonging to workers as they opened roads in Beit Hanoon.
According to official sources, since the beginning of the Gaza ceasefire, at least 116 Palestinians have been killed and at least 490 others wounded.
This is why Palestinians are waiting for phase two of the ceasefire, when all Israeli soldiers are supposed to withdraw from all parts of the Gaza Strip.
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