WFP Halves West Bank Aid Amid Funding Shortfall

The World Food Programme said it is halving its food assistance in the occupied West Bank due to a severe funding shortfall, reducing beneficiaries from 400,000 to 200,000 at a time when needs have more than doubled. WFP notes that about 900,000 Palestinians in the West Bank are food insecure, with livelihoods eroded by escalating violence, displacement, and rising food and fuel prices, particularly in rural areas. The agency warns that broader aid operations, including in Gaza where 1.5 million people receive help, are also at risk if funding shortages persist. In its statements, WFP’s Palestine country director Shaun Hughes emphasized that aid should be scaled up rather than cut and appealed for immediate international support. The cuts come amid wider donor funding pullbacks after years of conflict and are framed as a move to prioritize the most vulnerable while acknowledging widespread need. The development underscores the broader humanitarian crisis in the region, as aid agencies warn that reductions in assistance threaten both immediate hunger relief and longer-term livelihoods.