GAZA CITY — Two girls, aged 13 and 17, and a 50-year-old woman were killed on Friday in the Gaza Strip as a desperate crowd surged to secure bread from a bakery, medical officials reported.

The tragedy occurred at the al-Banna bakery in Deir al-Balah, reflecting the severe food shortages plaguing the war-torn territory.

The victims were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where doctors confirmed they had died of suffocation.

Osama Abu Laban, the father of one of the girls, lamented his loss outside the hospital, saying, “My wife fell when she heard that she [our daughter] was suffocating. She did not yet know that she was dead.”

The flow of food into Gaza has dropped to near-record lows over the past two months of a nearly 14-month conflict, according to Israeli data. U.N. and aid officials warn of growing hunger and desperation among Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, almost all of whom depend on humanitarian aid.

Many bakeries in Gaza had been closed last week due to a lack of flour, compounding the dire situation. When they reopened, massive crowds gathered, with scenes of people pushing and shouting to secure bread. Charitable kitchens and bakeries are now lifelines for many, providing families with only one meal per day.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, thousands of displaced people began returning to their homes following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

However, many found their neighborhoods reduced to rubble by two months of heavy Israeli airstrikes that displaced 1.2 million people.

The truce, hailed as a breakthrough in the region’s wider conflict, has not extended to Gaza, where fighting continues. For Palestinians in Gaza and families of hostages held there, the ceasefire is yet another missed opportunity for peace.

More than 44,000 people have been killed and over 104,000 wounded in Gaza since the conflict began following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israeli airstrikes have destroyed large swathes of Gaza, leaving nearly all of its population displaced. — Agencies