RAFAH, Gaza Strip—Hunger is spreading in Gaza as Palestinians living in the enclave grow increasingly desperate in their search for bread and other essential foods after Israel imposed a total siege on the enclave in response to Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks. 

The bakeries that supply Gaza with bread are shutting down because of lack of flour and fuel for their ovens. Those still working are serving lines of hundreds of people waiting for hours to buy bread. The price of what food remains in shops—mostly dry goods and vegetables—is soaring to levels many can’t afford.