oPt: Funding shortfall forces WFP to cut food assistance by half in the West Bank

JERUSALEM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced that due to critical funding constraints, it is cutting in half the number of people it can support with food assistance in the West Bank. The reduction comes at a time when food needs have more than doubled since 2023. Today an estimated 900,000 people are food insecure in the West Bank – with increased settler violence and displacement disrupting livelihoods, deepening hunger and pushing families further into crisis. WFP’s assistance to-date has been reaching 400,000 of the most vulnerable people, but this will be scaled back to 200,000 starting this month. WFP’s latest quarterly food security analysis found that 76 percent of households in the West Bank have experienced a significant decline in income. Food and fuel prices remain among the highest in the Middle East, forcing many families to sell assets and reduce the number and quality of their meals to survive. The analysis also found that 12 percent of people had poor food consumption, and one third of families could not afford a nutritious diet because of the rapidly deteriorating economy. People living in rural areas and in the southern West Bank governorates were identified as the most affected. “Families who were once thriving and earning a living from their land are now unable to afford enough food,” said Shaun Hughes, WFP Country Director for Palestine. “At a time when WFP should be scaling up assistance to reach more people, we are being forced to make difficult decisions, prioritizing the most vulnerable while cutting assistance to others despite widespread needs. We urge the international community to act immediately and step up support for Palestinians.” WFP, along with its partners, has been supporting families in the West Bank through cash and vouchers, food items, livelihood programs and nutritional services. A lack of funding has now forced WFP to pull back on this vital support. Funding shortfalls are also affecting WFP’s operations in Gaza, where the agency supports 1.5 million people, including one million who receive monthly food assistance. In July, WFP reduced by 40 percent the cash value of its assistance for 375,000 people. Further cuts will be unavoidable unless additional funding is secured. Over the next six months from September 2026, WFP urgently requires an additional USD 386 million to serve an estimated two million food insecure people across Gaza and the West Bank. # # # Note to editors Broadcast quality footage can be downloaded here. High resolution photos can be downloaded here. The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of weather extremes. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp Palestine Food assistance Funding Cash transfersFor more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org): Claire Nevill, WFP/Jerusalem, Mob. +972 (0)547 985 043Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo, Mob. +20 106 6663 4352Julian Miglierini, WFP/ Rome, Mob. +39 348 2316793Martin Rentsch, WFP/Berlin, Mob +49 160 99 26 17 30Nicola Kelly, WFP/London, Mob +44 (0)796 8008 474Rene McGuffin, WFP/ Washington Mob. +1 771 245 4268