Funding crisis forces World Food Programme to cut Gaza aid

The United Nations World Food Programme warned on Monday that funding shortages are forcing major cutbacks in its operations across the Gaza Strip, leaving about half million people without monthly food assistance in a region where two-thirds of the population still suffer from severe food insecurity. The programme stated that it has reduced its planned monthly assistance from 1.6 million people down to 1.1 million people. In this context, WFP Country Director in the Palestinian territories, Shaun Hughes, told AFP that starting this month they have had to remove half a million people from their total aid recipients. The programme noted that its efforts mitigated the effects of the famine witnessed in Gaza last year. It warned that conditions have not improved to the point where food assistance can be stopped. Hughes stated from the UN agency office in East Jerusalem that people are not safe, noting that airstrikes continue daily and people keep being displaced. He added that nearly everyone remains without a permanent home and humanitarian conditions are harsh. The latest assessments indicate that 1.4 million people, meaning about two-thirds of Gaza population, still suffer from severe food insecurity and need humanitarian aid to survive.