[March 18, 2006] Palestinian minister warns of humanitarian disaster in Gaza Tweet (Comtex Community Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)RAMALLAH, Mar 18, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Palestinian Minister of Economy Mazen Sanakrot on Saturday warned of a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli closure of a key commercial crossing which led to a severe shortage of flour. Sanakrot told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the Karni crossing on Gaza's eastern border had been closed by Israel for over 44 days and that all the seven mills in the coastal strip had run out of flour stock. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip consume around 350 tons of flour per day, said Sanakrot, adding that the bakeries would be forced to shut down within the coming few days due to lack of flour. Such a situation, he warned, would lead to chaos and even a humanitarian disaster if Israel did not immediately open the Karni crossing. Most of the bakeries in the Gaza City were closed after Gazans flocked to buy bread, fearing a shortage. Karni is the major commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, but it has largely been closed during the past two months by Israel, citing security concerns. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]