Hardships grow in Gaza under Israeli blockade
GAZA (Reuters) - Bakeries in the Gaza Strip are rationing bread after the largest mill suspended operations on Thursday, blaming Israel's closure of border crossings in response to Palestinian rocket attacks.
Lines formed outside many shops as residents of the Hamas-led enclave stocked up on staples that have become harder to come by since the clampdown began on November 4, when a deadly Israeli raid triggered a surge in cross-border violence that had been largely silenced by a five-month-old ceasefire.
Except for one day, food shipments into Gaza have been blocked, increasing daily hardships. Some farmers have started killing their flocks because they have nothing to feed them.
At one Gaza City bakery, a sign read: "Sorry, only one bag allowed."
In addition to shortages of flour, residents have been hard-hit by blackouts since Israel stopped allowing in industrial fuel for Gaza's sole power plant. Power provided by Israel and Egypt has not been cut off, but service is spotty.
"I am here to take some bread but how much can I keep since there is no electricity to run my refrigerator?" asked 35-year-old taxi driver Saleh Hassoun.
Week-long blackouts have boosted demand for wax candles. But those too are now in short supply.
Grocery stores are not the only ones suffering.
When Mahmoud Sallouha's chicken farm ran out of bird feed earlier this week, he ordered workers to start stuffing still-chirping chicks into black plastic bags and burying them.
So far, 150,000 have been killed.
The United Nations and other aid groups have stopped short of declaring food shortages in the Gaza Strip, but they say a humanitarian crisis could develop quickly if Israel does not ease border restrictions soon.
"If you're a mother who cannot get bread for your children, you are having a humanitarian crisis," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. "This is a political crisis with dire humanitarian consequences"
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak have so far been noncommittal about opening the crossings. In one interview, Barak ruled out doing so until militants stopped cross-border rocket fire, which continued on Thursday.
To alleviate the shortages, a growing number of Gazans depend on tunnels from Egypt to bring in everything from livestock to electronics.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
