The United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) announced Tuesday it is halving food assistance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank due to severe funding shortages, a move that will affect 200,000 people beginning this month. The agency also warned that further reductions are likely in Gaza, where it currently supports 1.5 million people.
In Gaza, the WFP has already reduced the value of cash assistance by 40% for 375,000 people and is now decreasing the amount given to around 75,000 families, according to Claire Nevill, WFP spokesperson for the Palestinian territories. "Now, the same is happening for WFP’s West Bank operation," Nevill told The Associated Press.
The agency is urgently seeking an additional $386 million over the next six months to aid an estimated 2 million food-insecure individuals across both Gaza and the West Bank. Nevill stated that economic downturn, increasing settler violence, and incursions on land have impacted food security. "So just as the situation is getting worse and we should be scaling up to meet these needs, we’re unfortunately having to scale back and effectively halve the amount of people that we can reach because of the lack of funding," she said.
According to WFP's latest analysis, 900,000 people in the West Bank are food insecure. The agency reported that increased violence, displacement, and economic deterioration have disrupted livelihoods and deepened hunger, with food needs more than doubling since 2023. "Families who were once thriving and earning a living from their land are now unable to afford enough food," said Shaun Hughes, WFP’s country director, noting that the agency must prioritize the most vulnerable households while cutting assistance to others.
In the West Bank, 76% of households have experienced a significant decline in income, and one-third cannot afford a nutritious diet, while food and fuel prices remain high. Rural communities and the southern West Bank are among the hardest hit areas.
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza also remain severe. Recent U.N. figures indicate that about one in five families eat only one meal a day, and half reported running out of food entirely at least once in the previous month. Aid agencies cite cash shortages and soaring food prices as major obstacles for families trying to obtain basic necessities.
Despite efforts to distribute food parcels and wheat flour, and hundreds of pallets of supplies entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, ongoing hostilities and security restrictions continue to hamper movement and recovery efforts. The U.N. reports that more than 2 million people have been displaced during the conflict, and much of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.