Only seven of Gaza's 20 bakeries still baking as flour runs out

Only seven of Gaza's 20 commercial bakeries were still working on 22 October, and they could shut within 48 hours without new flour, bakers' association head Abdul Nasser al-Ajrami told WAFA. He said stocks were exhausted after crossings closed and commercial flour was refused, even after a partial reopening.

Prices climbed with the shortage: a tray of eggs reached 60 shekels, about $19.50, Al Jazeera reported. Vegetables, fruit and chicken also became scarce, and flour was reaching markets only through the World Food Programme, which is itself cutting monthly aid for 500,000 people.

Pressure eased on the evening of 23 October, when Israel told traders commercial goods would resume and an Egyptian committee delivered flour, according to Mohammad Abu Warda of Gaza's private sector emergency committee. It is not yet clear whether the closed bakeries have reopened.