Leading aid group shuts down its soup kitchens across Gaza over Israel’s blockade

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Israel’s ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance for Gaza forced a leading aid group on Thursday to shut its community soup kitchens, faced empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies in the war-battered enclave.

World Central Kitchen was serving 133,000 meals per day and baking 80,000 loaves of bread over the past weeks, but said it was forced to suspend operations since there is almost no food left in Gaza for the organization to cook.

The lack of food is threatening Gaza’s population...