Middle East latest: 3 die in overcrowding outside Gaza bakery amid food shortage

Two children and a woman were crushed to death Friday as a crowd of Palestinians pushed to get bread at a bakery in the Gaza Strip amid a worsening food crisis in the war-ravaged territory, medical officials said.

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

The flow of food allowed into Gaza by Israel has fallen to nearly its lowest level of almost 14-month-old war for the past two months, according to Israeli official figures. U.N. and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among Gaza's population, almost all of which relies on humanitarian aid to survive.

Some bakeries in Gaza were closed for several days last week due to a shortage of flour. AP footage taken last week after they reopened showed large crowds of people cramming together, screaming and pushing, at one bakery in Deir al-Balah.

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip are heavily relying on bakeries and charitable kitchens, with many able to only secure one meal a day for their families.

In Lebanon, thousands of displaced people began returning to their homes this week after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.

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

The truce was the first major sign of progress in the region since war began more than a year ago, triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. For Palestinians in Gaza and families of hostages held in the territory, the ceasefire marked another missed opportunity to end fighting that has stretched on for nearly 14 months.

More than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people.

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Two children and a 50-year-old woman were crushed to death Friday as a crowd of Palestinians pushed to get bread at a bakery in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, medical officials said.

The flow of food allowed into Gaza by Israel has fallen to nearly its lowest level of the almost 14-month-old war for the past two months, according to Israeli official figures. U.N. and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among Gaza's population, almost all of which relies on humanitarian aid to survive.

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

Some bakeries in Gaza were closed for several days last week due to a shortage of flour. AP footage taken last week after they reopened showed large crowds of people cramming together, screaming and pushing, at one bakery in Deir al-Balah.

Palestinians across the Gaza Strip are heavily relying on bakeries and charitable kitchens, with many able to only secure one meal a day for their families.

Israel's rescue service said a shooter opened fire at an Israeli bus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, injuring eight people in the latest violence to strike the territory as tensions there soar 14 months into the Israel-Hamas war.

The military said that the attacker, whose identity was not immediately clear, targeted the bus at a junction near the Israeli settlement of Ariel, before being shot by Israeli troops. Three of the injured were in critical condition.

Attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis in the volatile territory have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, as Palestinian deaths have also spiked. Israeli fire has killed 796 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, mostly in military raids on Palestinian cities and towns. Attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property have also increased.