UN agency runs out of food in Gaza as Israel's blockade cuts off aid

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday that it has depleted all its food stocks in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid.

"Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip," the WFP said in a statement. "These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days."

"For weeks, hot meal kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance for people in Gaza. Despite reaching just half the population with only 25% of daily food needs, they have provided a critical lifeline," the statement added.

No humanitarian or commercial supplies have entered Gaza for more than seven weeks as all main border crossing points remain closed.

"This is the longest closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced, exacerbating already fragile markets and food systems," the WFP said.

Food prices in Gaza have "skyrocketed up to 1,400%" since the ceasefire, and critical shortages are "raising serious nutrition concerns for vulnerable populations," including young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the elderly, the WFP said.

The agency warned that the situation has "once again reached a breaking point" and, without urgent steps to open the borders, "WFP’s critical assistance may be forced to end."

Israel accuses the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas of seizing aid supplies by force and selling them at high prices to the civilian population.

Witnesses have also reported in the past that members of Hamas stole aid supplies, in some cases under threat of armed violence. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in early March that humanitarian aid had become Hamas' main source of income.

The last ceasefire phase between Israel and Hamas collapsed a month ago, with Israeli armed forces resuming their attacks from the ground and the air.

At least 1.9 million people — approximately 90% of Gaza's population — have been displaced, many multiple times, according to UN figures.

18 said killed in two strikes in Khan Younis

Israeli airstrikes on two houses in the southern Gaza Strip killed 18 people, according to a local Palestinian-run health facility.

The homes of two families in the southern city of Khan Younis were hit, staff at the Nasser Hospital said.

The information could not be independently verified. The Israeli military did not initially comment on the reported incident.

Five members of one family were earlier killed in an Israeli airstrike, Palestinian media reported.

According to news agency WAFA, a man, his pregnant wife and their three children were killed when their tent in the al-Mawasi refugee camp in southern Gaza was hit.

WAFA also reported that a 3-year-old child was killed when a fire broke out in one of the tents at the camp. It was initially unclear whether the blaze was caused by the attack.

Al-Mawasi, a sprawling and squalid series of encampments along Gaza's south-west Mediterranean coast, had previously been designated as a humanitarian zone by the Israeli military.

However, the camp has repeatedly been hit by Israeli airstrikes, with the military saying it was targeting infrastructure operated by Palestinian extremist group Hamas.

Israel demands release of hostages

Israel's stated intention is to crush Hamas and free the last Israeli hostages being held by them.

Israeli authorities believe 24 hostages are still alive in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas and its allies hold the bodies of 35 others.

They were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, when some 1,200 people were killed in Israeli communities and more than 250 Israelis taken hostage.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip, more than 51,300 people have been killed since then. The figures do not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths.