In Gaza, where hunger gnaws and hope runs thin, flour and bread are so scarce that they are carefully divided by families clinging to survival, AFP reports.

“Because the crossing points are closed, there’s no more gas and no flour, and no firewood coming in,” said Umm Mohammed Issa, a volunteer helping to make bread with the few resources still available.

“We’ll be in the situation where we can no longer feed our children,” the Palestinian woman said. Until the end of March, Gazans gathered each morning outside the few bakeries still operating, in the hope of getting some bread. But one by one, the ovens cooled as ingredients — flour, water, salt and yeast — ran out.

Fidaa Abu Ummayra thought she had found a real bargain when she bought a large sack of flour for the equivalent of 90 euros at Al-Shati refugee camp in the north of the territory.

“If only I hadn’t bought it,” the 55-year-old said. “It was full of mould and worms. The bread was disgusting.”