Displaced West Bank Palestinians face growing hunger after UN cuts food aid

Palestinians displaced in the occupied West Bank are facing growing hunger after the United Nations World Food Programme reduced its food assistance, according to a report published on October 24.

The WFP announced in September that it had cut the number of food-aid recipients in the West Bank by 50 percent, citing critical funding shortages. The agency said at the time that about 900,000 people in the territory were suffering from food insecurity, leaving many families who had already lost their homes with far less support.

In Tulkarem, 75-year-old widow Fawza Awad described struggling to feed her family after being displaced from a northern refugee camp during Israeli military operations. Her family, now living in a small unfinished house, had previously relied on limited food and financial assistance, and she said they are now left largely to fend for themselves.

Nearby, more than 1,000 displaced people are sheltering in a school building in the Thannabeh suburb. Among them, Rabab Qasim, 47, her husband Talib Abu Sarriya, 72, and their three children have received no aid for the past three months, the report said. Talib said the family often cannot find bread or a meal.

In Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, 61-year-old Said al-Amour, who lost a leg in a settler attack, said the loss of assistance has added to the cost of medical treatment and daily survival.

The WFP still assists 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, but told Al Jazeera it does not have the resources to meet all needs. Its analysis found poor food consumption among 12 percent of the population, while economist Ubai Aboudi warned that restrictions on aid groups and lost livelihoods are deepening a humanitarian crisis.