The World Food Programme is reducing food assistance in Gaza as money runs short. Coverage is falling from 1.6 million to 1.1 million people, with fewer hot meals and flour parcels. The agency says needs remain high and seeks 450 million dollars for six months, while nutrition support for women and children continues.
The World Food Programme, the food-assistance agency, is cutting aid to half a million people in Gaza amid a funding shortfall. Its Palestine director Shaun Hughes said the reduction reflected a lack of money while needs remained high. Coverage is falling from 1.6 million people to 1.1 million. Almost all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced, and roughly two-thirds depend on food aid.[1], [2]
Daily hot-meal distributions are being reduced from 250,000 portions to 150,000. Some hard-to-reach communities near the Yellow Line, which separates territory controlled by the Israeli military, now receive meals every other day. Monthly flour-parcel coverage has fallen from 1.1 million people to 600,000. The agency had already stopped cash transfers reaching about 500,000 people in July.[1]
Hughes said the agency needs 450 million dollars for six months of operations, with funding this year below half the level of previous years. Goods are available in markets, but many residents cannot afford them; unemployment exceeds 80 percent. Wood is expensive, and families also face restrictions on cooking gas. The agency continues supporting bakeries meeting about a third of bread needs, nutrition assistance for about 300,000 women and children, and healthy snacks for 200,000 children.[1]
