GENEVA, July 24 — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned it would have to make deeper cuts to its aid in Palestine’s Gaza, where it supports 70 per cent of the population, unless additional funding is secured.
The comments come after global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said more than two-thirds of Gazans could face acute hunger by the end of the year as humanitarian agencies cut aid flows due to funding shortages.
The majority of the population are reliant on aid supplies following two years of war, repeated displacement and severe restrictions imposed by Israel on aid deliveries.
The monitor’s findings showed the number of people facing acute hunger had fallen to 1.2 million between mid-April and the end of June.
However, that level is expected to rise to more than 1.4 million people, or 67 per cent, by December, it said, warning that gains are at risk as aid begins to decline.
“Without sufficient funding, we will be forced to scale back assistance for people who depend on it for survival,” WFP director of emergency preparedness and response Ross Smith told reporters here via video link from Rome.
While increased operational costs linked to the war in Iran, which sparked a surge in oil prices and supply chain disruptions, have been a factor, the main issue is donor fatigue as global attention shifts elsewhere, Smith said, without giving details of what funding had been lost.
WFP said it needs more than US$420 million (RM1.7 billion) to maintain operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank through the end of the year.
This month, cash aid for 75,000 people was reduced by 25 per cent, while 220,000 households saw food rations halved, Smith said. By October, WFP will have to make much deeper cuts unless additional funding is secured, Smith said.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the country does not restrict the entry of food into Gaza and has facilitated the entry of more than 1.8 million tonnes of food into the enclave since an October 2025 ceasefire.
