AMMAN — In Gaza, where markets buckle, kitchens fall silent and fuel supplies vanish without warning, bread has become survival currency. Under the pressure of the Israeli war on the besieged Strip, Jordanian-run bakeries are no longer a supplementary relief effort but a daily lifeline sustaining tens of thousands of displaced families.

 

Speaking to The Jordan Times, Hussein Shibli, Secretary General of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), described Jordanian bakery operations in Gaza as a "life-support system" rather than a "nice-to-have" service.

 

"When flour is scarce, markets collapse, and families cannot reliably access cooked food, bread becomes the fastest, most scalable daily calorie source,"Shibli said. Sustaining bakery production, he added, directly reduces hunger pressure on shelters, displacement sites and overstretched community kitchens.

 

High output under extreme constraints

 

Despite severe operational challenges, JHCO-supported bakeries continue to deliver large-scale daily output.

 

According to Shibli, the fixed daily bakery model launched in southern Gaza with the Jordanian Campaign produces between 35,000 and 40,000 loaves per day. In parallel, the Jordanian mobile bakery model, operating with international partners including the World Central Kitchen (WCK), has reached approximately 70,000 loaves per day per kitchen at peak capacity.

 

Distribution prioritises displacement sites and the most vulnerable households, with thousands of families reached daily.

 

Whether bread exists tomorrow

 

Shibli identified three decisive factors governing the continuity of bread production: flour availability, fuel and power stability, and movement access.

 

Flour shortages and entry constraints can sharply reduce output regardless of technical capacity, he said. Fuel and electricity remain critical for ovens, mixing systems and transport, while evacuation orders, shifting frontlines and route risks frequently force operational adjustments.

 

"Production capacity means little without supply continuity and safe access,"Shibli noted.

 

Coordination under fire

 

JHCO operates as both a coordination and delivery platform, mobilising Jordan’s relief pipeline while aligning with humanitarian partners and implementing operations through teams on the ground.

 

"This means joint planning for what enters Gaza, where it goes, and who receives it,"Shiblisaid.

 

To ensure efficiency and fairness, JHCO applies strict distribution controls, including a single daily allocation plan per area, vulnerability-based targeting, cross-checking to prevent duplication, and post-distribution verification where conditions allow.

 

Roles among partners are clearly defined, Shibli stressed, dividing responsibilities between production, transport and last-mile delivery. "So we do not all do the same job."

 

Life-sustaining assistence

 

Throughout the Israeli war on the besieged Strip, JHCO’s Gaza response has focused on assistance that cannot be postponed: bread production, hot meals, food parcels, water supplies, medical shipments and essential shelter items such as tarpaulins, blankets and basic household survival items.

 

"Our response in Gaza has focused on life-sustaining interventions people simply cannot delay,"Shibli said.

 

Noting that even during temporary lulls in hostilities, humanitarian needs persist, shifting from immediate survival to short-term stabilisation, Shiblisaid:"The response moves from survive today tostabilise this week".

 

Under these conditions, JHCO has scaled up flour and commodity inputs to sustain bakeries and support food parcel assembly, while expanding hot meal provision in areas where markets and kitchens remain non-functional.

 

Keep the line alive

 

Amid volatile security and access conditions, bread production remains one of the few interventions capable of delivering immediate, daily impact.

 

To protect continuity, JHCO has adopted what Shibli described as a "keep the line alive" strategy, prioritising flour allocation to bakeries, maintaining fuel contingencies, deploying operational redundancy through multiple bakery points where feasible, and leveraging partnered management models.

 

Bread, Shibliemphasised, has become more than food aid. "It is one of the last stable lifelines still functioning at scale."