Essential Food Supplies Elude Gaza's Ceasefire Relief Efforts

Tue Nov 25 2025 15:12:58 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Despite a recent ceasefire, food kitchens in Gaza struggle to provide vital nutrients as essential supplies remain scarce.

In Gaza, food kitchens run by humanitarian organizations like Anera continue to face shortages of critical food items, including proteins, despite a ceasefire allowing greater access to food supplies. While more meals are being served daily, access to essential nutrients is still limited, leaving many families dependent on aid amidst ongoing uncertainty and hardship.

Garlic simmers in huge metal pots heated over open wood fires, set up in a long line. Cooks add canned tomatoes and peppers with handfuls of spices, stirring the sauce with giant spoons. What is being prepared here is not just lunch; it's a lifeline.

The American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) opened this community kitchen in al-Zawayda in central Gaza after the ceasefire began six weeks ago. The US humanitarian organization has another kitchen in al-Mawasi in the southern strip, visited by BBC earlier in May, when the Israeli blockade severely restricted the entry of food and goods.

Now, with more food allowed to enter, the situation has improved, yet many essentials remain elusive. Each day, Anera feeds over 20,000 people, increasing its kitchen operations from 15 to 120 pots a day to target over 30 internally displaced people's camps, serving more than 4,000 families.

However, access to food has been a constant concern since the outbreak of war in October 2023, as Israel maintains tight restrictions on supplies allowed through Gaza's crossings, worsening the humanitarian crisis. The United Nations confirmed famine conditions in Gaza City as of August, predicting spread to other areas.

The menu consists mainly of spaghetti served with canned vegetables and tomato sauce; Matar emphasizes the need for a more diverse diet to include fresh vegetables, meats, and poultry—options that are still predominantly unavailable.

“We are mostly confined to cooking just three types of meals in a week: rice, pasta, and lentils,” said Sami Matar, highlighting the nutritional limitations faced by kitchen operations.

Anera's operations also suffer from a lack of necessary utensils and fuel, along with the challenge of affordability regarding fresh meat from local markets. As hundreds of thousands of Gazans remain in need of urgent food assistance, the UN reported that daily meal distribution in Gaza through various kitchen networks has reached an impressive 1.4 million meals, yet the total population exceeds two million.

Aida Salha, a mother-of-six residing in a tent after her home was destroyed, reported, “I swear nothing has changed since the ceasefire. We were only happy that the constant bloodshed stopped.” As cold and wet weather intensifies, the situation remains grim for many.

While aid workers like Matar strive to provide support to families in desperate conditions, the path to recovery seems fraught with difficulty, and with uncertainty on future ceasefires and humanitarian access, the need for comprehensive relief efforts persists.