The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a polity and the smaller of the two Palestinian territories. On the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.
Jamie Trevor Oliver MBE OSI is an English celebrity chef, former restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants.
The Gaza–Israel barrier is a border barrier located on the Israeli side of the Gaza–Israel border. Before the 2023-24 Israel-Hamas war, the Erez Crossing, in the north of the Gaza Strip, used to be the only crossing point for people and goods coming from Israel into the Gaza Strip, with a second crossing point, the Kerem Shalom border crossing, used exclusively for goods coming from Egypt, as Israel didn't allow goods to go directly from Egypt into Gaza through the Egypt–Gaza border, except for the Salah Al Din Gate, opened in 2018.
José Ramón Andrés Puerta is a Spanish and American chef and restaurateur. Born in Spain, he moved to the United States in the early 1990s and since then, he has opened restaurants in several American cities. He has won a number of awards, both for his cooking, and his humanitarian work. He is a professor as well as the founder of the Global Food Institute at George Washington University.
American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) is an American 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian and development aid to the Middle East, specifically the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Jordan. Founded in 1968 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, Anera initially sought to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians by providing emergency relief. While still providing crisis response, Anera now also addresses the long-term economic and social needs of Palestinians, Lebanese and Jordanians through its health care, education, and job creation programs.
DC Central Kitchen is a nationally recognized "community kitchen" that recycles food from around Washington, D.C., and uses it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop work skills while providing thousands of meals for local service agencies in the process. Chef José Andrés serves on the board.
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when 200,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, settling in the Gaza Strip as refugees. Since then, Israel has fought 15 wars against the Gaza Strip. The number of Gazans reportedly killed in the most recent 2023 war — 34,000 — is higher than the death toll of all other wars of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip since Hamas's takeover in 2007, led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment, as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans' freedom of movement. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an "open-air prison".
Culinary diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy or food diplomacy is a type of cultural diplomacy, which itself is a subset of public diplomacy. Its basic premise is that "the easiest way to win hearts and minds is through the stomach". Official government-sponsored culinary diplomacy programs have been established in Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Peru, Israel, the United States, Cambodia, Japan, and Nordic countries.
Katie Button is an American Chef and restaurateur. She holds the title of Executive Chef and CEO of the restaurant group Katie Button Restaurants which includes Cúrate Bar de Tapas and La Bodega by Cúrate located in Asheville, North Carolina.. She also operates an online Spanish food market, Cúrate at Home, and a culinary travel company, Cúrate Trips.
Open Arms is a Mediterranean rescue vessel operated by the Proactiva Open Arms NGO. Before 2018, it was named Ibaizabal Tres.
Andre Rush is an American celebrity chef and military veteran. He worked in the White House as a Chef for four administrations. Rush, a retired Master Sergeant of the U.S. Army, gained attention for his large biceps and muscular physique.
Brooke Williamson is an American chef and restaurateur. She won season 14 of the US television reality cooking competition series Top Chef and has owned several Los Angeles-area restaurants.
We Feed People is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Ron Howard that chronicles how chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen rebuild nations in the wake of disaster, providing food to those affected. It had its world premiere in Austin, Texas, at the SXSW Film Festival and was released on March 19, 2022, in the U.S. and in Canada on May 19, 2022, by National Geographic Documentary Films. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards at the 74th Emmy Awards.
More than 685 health workers have been killed and 900 wounded during attacks on medical facilities and medical transport in the Israel-Hamas War. Although the injuries happened both on the Israeli side and on the Palestinian side, most of these attacks were carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinians.
As a result of Israeli airstrikes during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war and the imposition of a tightened blockade on the ingress of basic essentials into the Gaza Strip by Israel during that war, including restrictions on humanitarian aid, the population of the Gaza strip is facing starvation and famine. Airstrikes have destroyed food infrastructure, such as bakeries, mills, and food stores, and there is a widespread scarcity of essential supplies due to the blockade of aid. This has caused starvation for more than half a million Gazans and is part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Strip. It is the "highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger" recorded on the IPC scale since its inception in 2004, and according to experts, may become the most intense man-made famine since the Second World War.
During the Israel–Hamas war, significant issues arose with humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Israel's initial blockade on Gaza prevented the entry of humanitarian aid for several weeks. As the war progressed, aid was allowed at limited quantities, with entities such as Oxfam, the European Union, United Kingdom, and United Nations stating that Israel deliberately blocked humanitarian aid. These limitations have contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis and famine. Israeli airstrikes and continued restrictions on aid entry led to widespread shortages of food and supplies. Humanitarian aid agencies warned of the dire humanitarian consequences of aid restrictions, particularly after major Western donors announced they would cease funding UNRWA, the major aid relief agency in Gaza.
The Gaza floating pier is a floating dock facility created by the U.S. military, after being proposed immediately before U.S. President Biden's 2024 State of the Union Address on March 7, 2024. It was completed in May 2024.
The World Central Kitchen aid convoy attack occurred on 1 April 2024, when Israeli drones targeted a three-car convoy belonging to the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in the Gaza Strip, killing seven aid workers. The attack occurred despite the WCK having coordinated their route with the Israeli military, which both parties have acknowledged. The workers had been overseeing the transfer of a shipment of food from a makeshift pier to a warehouse some distance away in the northern Gaza Strip, which has been pushed close to famine by Israel's invasion and blockade during the Israel–Hamas war.
The Israel–Hamas war has had significant effects on some major European Union member countries and institutions.
