GAZA - Faced with major food shortages after nearly 14 months of war, Palestinians describe long days hunting for flour and bread in the conflict-ravaged Gaza Strip. Every morning crowds form outside the few bakeries open in the Palestinian territory, as people desperately try to get a bag of bread at distribution points. Since the outbreak of war in Gaza last year, charities and international aid organisations have repeatedly warned of crisis levels of hunger for nearly two million people. A United Nations-backed assessment last month warned of famine looming in the northern Gaza Strip amid a near-halt in food aid after Israel launched an offensive in the area. Essential goods like water, fresh produce and medicines are also scarce. Gazans across the territory have told AFP in recent months how they wake up at the crack of dawn just to ensure they can get some flour or bread, with current availability reaching an all-time low. In the southern city of Khan Yunis, AFP photographers saw dozens of people at a distribution point, bodies pressed against each other. Over each other’s heads, everyone tries to reach out as far as possible to grab the round bread. A small child, her face covered in tears, squeezes a coin between her fingers as she makes her way through the crowd of adults.