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Iraq PM Chairs Cabinet Meeting in Nasiriyah

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (Reuters)
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Iraq PM Chairs Cabinet Meeting in Nasiriyah

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (Reuters)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi paid a visit on Monday to the southern province of Dhi Qar where he chaired a regular cabinet meeting.

The province, which lies some 390 kilometers south of Baghdad, suffers from poor services and high poverty and unemployment. It has been a flashpoint for the year-long anti-government protests.

The premier’s press office said Kadhimi toured the region to inspect the state of security and services there and address obstacles facing their improvement.

Observers said the PM sought through the visit to ease the simmering popular anger there by making pledges about improving services, providing job opportunities and kicking off long stalled projects.

He held talks with various tribal, societal and official figures, underlining the extent of the federal authority’s concern over the developments and state of neglect in Dhi Qar.

During the cabinet meeting, Kadhimi declared that the situation in the province demands “serious government efforts”.

“We are determined to take decisions that favor the province and its people,” he stressed.

Special attention must be dedicated to Nasiriyah city where projects can be launched and job opportunities provided, he added.

Ministers must exert more efforts to ensure that decisions taken over Dhi Qar are implemented, he urged.

A government spokesman said the cabinet approved a number of decisions related to Nasiriyah airport, establishing main highways and a reconstruction fund and speeding up the completion of the industrial city.

Kadhimi also paid a visit to the Martyrs’ Bridge on the Euphrates River that connects the western and southern parts of Nasiriyah. The bridge was the scene of violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces.

He met with a number of families of slain protesters, offering his condolences and pledging to meet their demands.

A statement from the PM’s office said Kadhimi stressed to the families that his government will forge ahead in its mission to “safeguard the rights of the martyrs, bring the murderers to justice, press ahead with reform and crack down on corruption.”

Despite these pledges, Kadhimi’s government has yet to arrest any of these murderers and it has yet to announce the results of investigations into violence against the protesters, raising doubts among the demonstrators about the seriousness of its measures.

The security forces have yet to also release kidnapped activist Sajjad al-Iraqi, who was abducted three weeks ago on the outskirts of Nasiriyah.

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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.