Today's Edition
Allan Jacob (ABU DHABI)
Food charity World Central Kitchen has resumed cooking for starving Gazans affected by relentless attacks and displacement by Israeli armed forces in the enclave.
The charity said almost 10,000 meals were cooked on the first day after it resume cooking 12 weeks after the wave of attacks amid depleted food supplies. "As of today, we have resumed cooking at select kitchens, a critical step toward increasing meal production to meet the urgent need of displaced Palestinians," said World Central Kitchen in a statement.
Teams from the charity are now preparing nourishing and warm carb-rich meals such as pasta and hearty potato stews. On May 7, the charity was forced to halt cooking across all its large kitchens and its mobile bakery after food supplies ran out. "This pause marked a devastating moment in our response, cutting off a vital source of daily nourishment for families already facing extreme hardship," it said.
Now that aid shipments are trickling in after Israel eased some measures, the charity said cooking again for the affected people in enclave was an important milestone. It, however, said that the effects of prolonged hunger do not disappear overnight. Hunger leaves deep physical and psychological scars-and even as meals begin again, the damage caused by extended access disruptions continues to impact families and communities.
"We are grateful to once again cook for the people of Gaza-but our continued ability to do so is not guaranteed. Consistent and sustained humanitarian access is essential. Our teams stand ready to scale efforts. Without it, feeding communities safely and effectively is impossible," charity said.
In the food crisis engulfing Gaza, the charity sought to find sustainable fuel sources. It began using innovative, fuel-efficient stoves that eliminate the need for traditional fuels or electricity, which have been limited since October 2024. This breakthrough allowed the team to initially utilise eco-pellets, it said.
But the pellets too became scarce as Israel choked entry points into the enclave. Wooden pallets were the option and were mixed with what was left of the remaining eco pellets to keep cooking fires burning. The charity also tried olive husk, which is a plentiful in the region and is a by-product of olive oil.
However, using it comes with its own set of challenges. Raw olive husk creates a lot of smoke, so it needs to be compressed into briquettes. Sourcing and processing the olive husk also requires complex logistics, the charity said. But despite facing these odds the Kitchen, which began operations in Gaza in October 2023, has served more than 133 million meals to people of the area.
According to the World Health Organisation, the entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death.
Founded by Jose Andres in 2010, the World Central Kitchen has served over 300 million meals to communities affected by violence and natural disasters across the world.
