Vital Food Supplies Still Scarce in Gaza Despite Ceasefire

Mon Nov 24 2025 16:36:19 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In the aftermath of the ceasefire, Gaza's community kitchens are facing shortages of essential food products. While aid has increased, critical proteins and diverse food options remain elusive for many families.

Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, community kitchens like Anera are struggling to provide essential food items to those in need. Although aid has improved since the ceasefire began, critical items like meat and diverse proteins are still largely unavailable, affecting the nutritional quality of meals. Over 2 million residents continue to face food insecurity, with many relying on community kitchens for their daily meals.

Garlic simmers in huge metal pots heated over open wood fires and 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 is a lifeline.

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 south of the strip, which the BBC visited in early May. Back then, two months into an Israeli blockade, preventing the entry of all food and other goods, stocks were dwindling. Now, with more food allowed to enter, the situation has improved.

Each day, Anera feeds a hot meal to more than 20,000 people. We have moved from using 15 pots in the past, and now we’ve increased to up to 120 pots a day, targeting more than 30 internally displaced people's camps, says team leader Sami Matar. We’re serving more than 4,000 families compared to just 900 families six months ago. Access to food has been a constant concern since the start of the war in October 2023, with Israel heavily restricting supplies allowed through Gaza's crossings. This has exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation. Famine was confirmed in Gaza City in August and projected to spread to other areas of the strip.

On today’s menu is spaghetti served with canned vegetables and tomato sauce. But while Anera is managing to get access to more food, vital ingredients such as fresh proteins and diverse vegetables are still missing. We need the food to be more diverse, to secure fresh vegetables and essential proteins like meat and chicken, Mr. Matar goes on. Those essentials are not allowed to enter Gaza for humanitarian aid distribution. Aid agencies are pushing for Israel to open all five crossing points into Gaza; currently, only three are operating.

In the past week, the UN reports that the daily number of meals distributed in Gaza has reached 1.4 million, up from fewer than one million meals just a month ago. However, a quarter of households in Gaza are eating just one meal daily, showing the continued need for significant aid. Many families like that of Aida Salha from Gaza City live in urgent need of food assistance. We live off the community kitchen, the takia, says Aida, indicating the reliance many have on these food programs. The situation remains dire, reflecting the ongoing struggle of the Gazan people as they navigate the aftermath of conflict and strive for a semblance of normalcy.