WASHINGTON

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced Wednesday that it has halted work in the Gaza Strip because it has run out of supplies.

"After serving more than 130 million total meals and 26 million loaves of bread over the past 18 months, World Central Kitchen no longer has the supplies to cook meals or bake bread in Gaza," it said in a statement.

Since March 2, Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings closed to food, medical and humanitarian aid, deepening an already worsening humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

"Since Israel closed border crossings in early March, WCK has been unable to replenish the stocks of food that we use to feed hundreds of thousands of Gazans daily," it said.

WCK said it is still supporting Palestinian families by distributing critically needed potable water where possible.

Stressing that WCK trucks loaded with food and cooking fuel have been ready at the Gaza border since early March, it said additional food and equipment are ready to be shipped to the border from Jordan and Egypt.

"Our vital work cannot continue without permission from Israel for this aid to enter," it added.

More than 52,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.