Latest news from the Middle East: 3 people killed in overcrowding outside Gaza bakery due to food shortages

Two children and a woman were crushed to death on Friday as a crowd of Palestinians pressed into a Gaza bakery amid a deteriorating economic situation. food crisis in war-ravaged territory, medical officials said.

The children and the 50-year-old woman were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where a doctor confirmed that they died of asphyxiation due to crowding at the al-Banna bakery.

The influx of food allowed into Gaza has fallen to near its lowest level in nearly 14 months of war over the past two months, according to official Israeli data. UN and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among Gaza’s population, with almost the entire population dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.

Last week, some bakeries in Gaza were closed for several days due to a lack of flour. AP footage filmed last week after they reopened showed large crowds of people crowding, shouting and jostling inside one of Deir al-Balah’s bakeries.

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip rely heavily on bakeries and charity kitchens, and many are only able to provide their families with one meal a day.

Thousands of people were displaced in Lebanon returning to their homes this week after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

Many found their homes reduced to rubble after intense Israeli airstrikes over the past two months have leveled entire neighborhoods in eastern and southern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs. Nearly 1.2 million people were displaced.

The ceasefire was the first major sign of progress in the region since the war began over a year ago, triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. However, it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. For Palestinians in Gaza and the families of hostages held in the territory, the ceasefire represented another missed opportunity to end fighting that had dragged on for almost 14 months.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 injured. Israel has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million inhabitants.

Here are the latest:

Two children and a 50-year-old woman were crushed to death on Friday when a crowd of Palestinians pressed against bread at a bakery in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, doctors said.

According to official Israeli data, the flow of food allowed into Gaza has dropped over the past two months to almost its lowest level in the nearly 14-month war. UN and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among Gaza’s population, with almost the entire population dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.

A doctor at Al-Aqsa Hospital confirmed that all three died of asphyxiation due to crowding at the al-Banna bakery in Deir al-Balah.

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip rely heavily on bakeries and charity kitchens, and many are only able to provide their families with one meal a day.

Israel’s emergency services said a gunman opened fire on an Israeli bus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, wounding eight people in recent violence in the territory as tensions there have risen in the 14 months since the Israel-U.S. Hamas.

The military said the attacker, whose identity was not immediately clear, targeted the bus at an intersection near the Israeli settlement of Ariel and was shot dead by Israeli troops. Three of the injured were in critical condition.

Attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis in the unstable territory have become more frequent since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, as the death toll among Palestinians continues to rise. Since October 7, 2023, 796 Palestinians have died in Israeli fire, mostly as a result of military airstrikes on Palestinian cities and towns. Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have also increased.