Gaza Soup Kitchen is a

grassroots organization A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

that was established in Beit Lahia, Gaza, to provide food for Palestinians at risk of

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. Founded in early 2024 by brothers Hani and Mahmoud Almadhoun, Mahmoud coordinated activities on the ground while Hani supported the organization from the United States through online fundraising. In April 2024, they reported serving 3,000 people a day, but their operations in later months have been severely impacted by the Israeli blockade on Gaza. On November 30, 2024, the Gaza Soup Kitchen announced that Mahmoud had been killed in an Israeli

drone strike Drone warfare is a form of warfare using Military drone, military drones or Military robot, military robots. The robots may be Telerobotics, remote controlled or have varying levels of Autonomous robot, autonomy during their mission. Types of ro ...

that morning.

Background

The Gaza Soup Kitchen was co-founded by brothers Hani and Mahmoud Almadhoun. Hani, the director of philanthropy for UNRWA USA, lives in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, while much of his family lives in Beit Lahia. Hani reached out to US officials regarding the lack of food in Gaza but was dissatisfied with their response. He became increasingly concerned in December 2023, after learning that Palestinians like his sister Samah were making bread from

animal feed Animal feed is food given to domestic animals, especially livestock, in the course of animal husbandry. There are two basic types: fodder and forage. Used alone, the word ''feed'' more often refers to fodder. Animal feed is an important input ...

. Previously, Mahmoud sold mobile phones, but the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) bombed his shop. In December 2023, Mahmoud and three other male relatives were detained by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza. Hani recognized him in photos of blindfolded men held by the IDF. After Hani spoke about Mahmoud's detainment to the US media and on social media, Mahmoud was released. In an op-ed for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Mahmoud recounted being "stripped to my underwear and paraded with other blindfolded men in the cold like circus animals" and wrote that none of the detained men were militants. He also told

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that the experience inspired him to help others. Mahmoud and Hani have lost at least 150 family members in the war, including their brother Majed, his wife, and their four children.

History

2024

In early 2024, Mahmoud and Hani started the Gaza Soup Kitchen in Beit Lahia. On its first day, the soup kitchen fed 150 families, increasing to as many as 3,000 people a day by April 2024. To support their efforts, Hani created a

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campaign, raising $2 million by December 2024. He transfers the funds with difficulty due to Gaza's damaged financial infrastructure. Mahmoud, the head chef until he was killed in an Israeli drone strike, was assisted by his relatives, including his mother and sister Faten. To obtain ingredients, the Gaza Soup Kitchen barters, forages, or purchases food at high cost. Searching for food in Gaza is dangerous; Mahmoud reported being shot at while trying to acquire ingredients. Most of the meals are vegetarian and include foods like zucchini, potatoes, lentils, or khubeza. Due to the lack of fuel, meals are prepared over a wood fire. Mahmoud told reporters that families come to the soup kitchen in the morning to wait in line for food distribution in the evening. For many people, the soup kitchen is their only source of food. In addition to providing food, Hani has said that the Gaza Soup Kitchen helps to improve the mental wellbeing of the people it serves. In March, the Gaza Soup Kitchen reported that they had started providing food to the Kamal Adwan Hospital. The same month, they opened another location in

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

, run by Hani and Mahmoud's sister, Niveen. The kitchen was later closed due to Israel's

Rafah offensive On 6 May 2024, Israel began a military offensive in and around the city of Rafah as part of Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present), its invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. In early May, as ceasefire negotiations stal ...

. ''The Washington Post'' published an op-ed by Mahmoud in April, in which he wrote that he would feed his neighbors for as long as possible. He stated: "We will keep serving our community, remembering that when all else has failed the Palestinians, the land did not." In September, the Gaza Soup Kitchen opened a school for local children in Beit Lahia. Because many school buildings have been destroyed in Israeli airstrikes or repurposed as refugee camps, the Gaza Soup Kitchen school was located in a commercial building. On the roof, they placed a sign that said: "School. Please Don't Bomb" in Hebrew and English. On November 3, the IDF attacked the building, leaving a hole in the ceiling and destroying the furniture inside. In October, Israel began the Siege of North Gaza, which has killed or wounded over 13,000 Palestinians according to Gaza officials. The UN and US officials have stated that not enough aid has been entering North Gaza during the siege. By November, the Gaza Soup Kitchen was unable to serve many of the families who needed food. After an Israel drone strike killed Mahmoud in November, the Gaza Soup Kitchen has continued operating. As of December 2024, the Gaza Soup Kitchen has about 45 staff working at multiple locations in the North and the South.

2025

In March 2025, the

Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip The restrictions on movement and goods in Gaza imposed by Israel date to the early 1990s. After Hamas took over in 2007, Israel significantly intensified existing movement restrictions and imposed a complete blockade on the movement of good ...

escalated, preventing all food and aid from entering Gaza and increasing the

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...

there. By April, Hani reported that Gaza Soup Kitchen's supplies were seriously depleted and would run out in a few weeks. Lacking fresh food, they primarily served pasta, rice, and canned meat. He estimated that they were only able to feed about 80% of people who came for meals.

Israeli drone strikes

November 2024

On November 30, 2024, the Gaza Soup Kitchen announced that the IDF had killed Mahmoud in a drone strike that morning. An eyewitness reported that he and Mahmoud were on their way to deliver aid to Kamal Adwan Hospital when an IDF drone attacked Mahmoud. The eyewitness attempted to take Mahmoud to the hospital, but they were shot at. Mahmoud is survived by his wife and their seven children, including a newborn and another child injured by an Israeli

quadcopter A quadcopter, also called quadrocopter, or quadrotor is a type of helicopter or multicopter that has four rotors. Although quadrotor helicopters and convertiplanes have long been flown experimentally, the configuration remained a curiosity ...

. Aid workers from

World Central Kitchen World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that Food security, provides food relief. It was founded in 2010 by Spanish American chef and restaurateur José Andrés following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, earthq ...

and

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

were also killed by Israel that day.

Reactions

In a statement on social media, the Gaza Soup Kitchen wrote that Mahmoud was " targeted and assassinated" and "killed because of his unwavering dedication to solving problems for Kamal Adwan Hospital and ensuring they had whatever they needed." Hani stated: "My brother slowed down the ethnic cleansing of north Gaza, and that’s why he was taken out". UNRWA USA,

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restaurant chain Ayat, and Laila El-Haddad have paid tribute to Mahmoud on social media. Other pieces honoring Mahmoud have been published by ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'',

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, and ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Organizations established in 2024 Soup kitchens Beit Lahia in the Israel–Hamas war 2024 in the Gaza Strip 2024 establishments in Palestine