Palestinians residing in Gaza are facing increasingly challenging circumstances. They will no longer be able to rely on the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) founded by the Asturian chef José Andrés, which has announced that it has ceased providing meals in the Gaza Strip due to a lack of supplies. The trucks are currently halted at the border due to the Israeli blockade, as reported by Efe.
"Our teams in Gaza are once again left without food to cook. We have exhausted all reserves and our trucks are stopped at the border," the NGO stated in a press release.
While they continue to bake bread and provide clean water, "the people in Gaza need hot meals." "Yesterday we served over 80,000 meals and we are ready to start cooking again as soon as the aid trucks can safely reach our field kitchens," they reported.
WCK highlights that this is the second time the lack of supplies has forced them to halt their operations. The first instance was when food entry was not permitted for twelve weeks, between March 2 and May 19.
José Andrés himself expressed regret over the suspension of operations in Gaza. "Once again, we have run out of food in Gaza. Our brave teams report a significant deterioration in security, and our capacity has been severely affected," he noted on his X account.
Therefore, he urges the authorization of supply entry "as soon as possible" to resume their work. "Many innocent families desperately need to eat," he emphasized. "We need safe routes, smaller convoys, and the freedom to travel at safe hours so we can feed people with hot meals!" he concluded.
NGOs like WCK have reported being targeted by Israeli attacks, and the Spanish chef's organization has suffered casualties among its workers in Israeli military operations. The most severe incident occurred on April 2, 2024, when seven organization workers, including a British citizen, died in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel has blocked food entry into the Palestinian enclave citing unsafe distribution conditions. Last week, the controversial American-Israeli NGO Humanitarian Foundation for Gaza stated that it was the only organization able to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.