GAZA CITY: Israel’s ongoing blockade and punitive measures have wiped out essential food supplies from markets across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, pushing the territory further towards humanitarian disaster.
In the holy month of Ramadan, the Gazans are without basic humanitarian needs such as water, food and medicines making their life miserable.
Israel cut the electricity supply to Gaza on Sunday night, in what Energy Minister Eli Cohen described as a measure to pressure Hamas into releasing captives.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after,” Cohen said.
Israel has already stopped aid deliveries to Gaza amid the deadlock over the ceasefire.
“Denying the flow of food, medicines, fuel and basic relief means has led to a spike in food prices and a severe shortage of medical supplies, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Hamas said in a separate statement.
Al Jazeera reported that a brief walk around any of the remaining shops or street vendors in Gaza City shows how depleted everything is.
It says many basic goods are gone, off the shelves and whatever is available is not enough for people’s needs.
According to reports goods, including cooking oil, rice, flour and other food supplies, are too expensive. Before the war they used to be common staples for people, but not anymore.
Reportedly the situation is pushing a whole population that is already desperate to the brink of catastrophe.
ALSO READ: UN Experts Accuse Israel of Genocidal Acts, Sexual Violence in Gaza
Meanwhile, Gaza’s death toll from Israel’s destructive war since October 2023 has surged to 48,524 as more bodies of Palestinians were found in the rubble, the Health Ministry said.
A ministry statement said the toll included seven bodies retrieved from the rubble and two people killed by Israeli army fire in the last 24 hours.
The ministry said 14 more injured Palestinians were transferred to hospitals, taking the number of injuries to 111,955 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
Mediators are working to break the deadlock between Israel and Hamas in a renewed effort to extend the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, as negotiations continue behind closed doors in the Qatari capital, Doha.
