UN slashes food aid for occupied West Bank and Gaza amid funding shortfall

What the report says

The World Food Programme says it is cutting food assistance in the occupied West Bank and Gaza because of severe funding shortfalls, according to Al Jazeera. The UN agency said on Tuesday that it will halve support in the West Bank from 400,000 people to 200,000, and that aid in Gaza is also being reduced as financing pressures grow.

Al Jazeera reported that the cuts will affect food aid delivered through cash, vouchers, food packages, livelihood support and nutrition services starting this month. The WFP said it is trying to focus on the most vulnerable households even as needs remain widespread. In the West Bank, the agency estimates about 900,000 people are food insecure.

In Gaza, the WFP said it supports 1.5 million people, including about one million who receive monthly food assistance. The agency’s spokesperson for the Palestinian territories said cash aid was already being scaled back for around 75,000 families, and that the value of support for 375,000 people had been reduced by 40 percent in July.

The broader context is a global decline in donor support for humanitarian operations, with the article saying the United States has led sharp cuts in Western contributions. The WFP said it needs an additional $386 million over the next six months to reach roughly two million food-insecure people across Gaza and the West Bank.