Dozens of Gaza communal kitchens shut as supply runs out

Dozens of community kitchens in Gaza shut their doors on Thursday due to a lack of supplies, closing off a lifeline used by hundreds of thousands of people in a further blow to efforts to combat growing hunger in the enclave.

- REUTERS

The move followed hours after the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity announced that it had run out of the ingredients necessary to provide much-needed free meals and had been prevented by Israel from bringing in aid.

Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) in Gaza, told Reuters that most of the enclave’s 170 community kitchens had shut down after running out of stock due to Israel’s continued blockade on Gaza.

Shawa said the decision by the WCK, announced late Wednesday, and the closure of community kitchens Thursday would cause a drop of between 400,000 to 500,000 free meals per day for the 2.3 million population.