West Bank food needs more than doubled since 2023 as U.N. halves its reach due to funding shortages

The United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) has announced a drastic reduction in food assistance for the Israeli-occupied West Bank, cutting from 400,000 to 200,000 people starting this month due to severe funding shortages. The agency predicts that additional cuts will be necessary in Gaza, where they currently support 1.5 million people, unless they secure new funding.

Claire Nevill, a spokesperson for the WFP in the Palestinian territories, revealed that they have already started reducing cash assistance for around 75,000 families in Gaza and are facing the same situation in the West Bank. The WFP urgently requires an additional $386 million over the next six months to assist an estimated 2 million food-insecure individuals in both Gaza and the West Bank.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported in July that conditions in Gaza had improved since famine was declared last year, but still classified the situation at crisis levels. The WFP warns that donor fatigue and funding shortages might force even deeper reductions in Gaza, with a need of over $420 million to sustain operations through the end of the year.

Increased violence, displacement, and economic deterioration in the West Bank have disrupted livelihoods, deepening hunger, with 900,000 people estimated to be food insecure. The agency is forced to prioritize the most vulnerable households, cutting assistance to others despite widespread need. The WFP's latest analysis shows that 76% of West Bank households have experienced a significant decline in income, and one-third cannot afford a nutritious diet.

The situation remains dire in Gaza, where about one in five families ate only one meal a day, and half reported running out of food entirely in the previous month.