A leading aid group says that Israel’s ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance for Gaza has forced it to shut down its community soup kitchens.

Dozens of community kitchens in Gaza shut their doors on Thursday due to a lack of supplies, closing off a lifeline used by hundreds of thousands of people in a further blow to efforts to combat growing hunger in the enclave.

The U.S.-based World Central Kitchen charity has halted work in the Gaza Strip, saying on Wednesday it had run out of supplies and been prevented by Israel from bringing in aid. "After serving more than 130 million total meals and 26 million loaves of bread over the past 18 months,