Wheat flour shortage forces Palestinians to grind animal feed for bread
The blockade imposed by Israel has severely restricted the flow of humanitarian aid to the northern Gaza Strip, leaving residents grappling with dire food shortages, with wheat flour for bread becoming increasingly scarce.
SHAH ALAM - As the humanitarian crisis in the northern Gaza Strip escalates amid relentless Israeli attacks spanning over 100 days, Palestinians are resorting to grinding animal fodder to produce bread due to a severe shortage of wheat flour caused by Tel Aviv's blockade of humanitarian aid.
The ongoing onslaught has displaced a staggering 85 per cent of Gaza's population, exacerbating shortages of essential supplies such as food, clean water, and medicine.
The blockade imposed by Israel has severely restricted the flow of humanitarian aid to the northern Gaza Strip, leaving residents grappling with dire food shortages, with wheat flour for bread becoming increasingly scarce.
Furthermore, reports indicate that animal feed has been traded in local markets across northern Gaza as a substitute for wheat flour, highlighting the severity of the crisis.
A video circulating on social media captures the grim reality faced by residents as they engage in the laborious task of grinding animal feed to produce flour for bread, highlighting the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.
Palestinian press and photographer, Khaled Alsabbah took to Instagram and posted pictures of the said ‘bread’ captioning the post: “Bread in Northern Gaza. A mixture of low-fat grains, animal feed and grass.”
Another Palestinian journalist, Bisan Owda also took to Instagram and shared the latest development of the food crisis. She posted a one-minute video on her Instagram story, saying: “The Israeli army is preventing food from entering Gaza and people are starving to death".
“And finally, after weeks without any food, only four trucks of flour entered the north of Gaza. Just tell me how can this flour be enough for all of these people?” Bisan asked.
Additionally, she said the Israeli military were openly firing at individuals attempting to collect the limited flour.
“Limited amount of food, shooting the people who come to take the aid, and the people are starving,” Bisan added.
On Feb 20, the United States vetoed yet another United Nations resolution demanding and immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. It was the only country to vote against the drafted resolution, put forth by Arab nations, with the United Kingdom abstaining.
More than 33,000 Palestinian cibilians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Oct 7 last year.
The UN has issued dire warnings, cautioning that the 2.2 million people in the Gaza Strip, enduring relentless Israeli attacks, are teetering on the brink of famine as the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly.
