Half a million people in Gaza to lose food aid due to funding cuts

As winter approaches in Gaza, the United Nations World Food Programme is warning that funding shortages are forcing it to make sweeping cuts to food assistance at one of the most vulnerable moments of the year.

Around half a million people are set to lose their monthly food aid, with daily hot meals reduced from 250,000 to 150,000 and some families in hard-to-reach areas receiving food every other day instead of every day.

CGTN spoke to Claire Nevill, head of communications at the World Food Programme Palestine, about what the cuts mean on the ground and why they are happening now.

Nevill described the situation as "extremely concerning."

"This is happening at a time when families are entering the winter season in Gaza, which can be particularly harsh," she said.

The WFP has been supporting around 1.6 million people every month with hot meals, food parcels, cash assistance, nutritious snacks in schools and early recovery activities. That lifeline is now being cut back precisely when it is needed most.

"There's been no meaningful recovery for people to really maintain their own food security," Nevill said. "This humanitarian assistance is a lifeline, and we're having to reduce at a really critical point to the majority of the population in Gaza."

Nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million people remain displaced, and two-thirds of the population rely on food aid to survive.

Asked whether the funding cuts signal that Gaza is becoming a lower priority for the international community, Nevill said, "We've received less than half of what we received in the previous two years from our donor partners across the board."

"We still have had important contributions, but it's not enough to sustain this humanitarian assistance lifeline to 1.6 million people in Gaza," she added.

She attributed the shortfall in part to the sheer number of crises now competing for international attention.

"There are many competing crises around the world three years into this brutal war, and it's far from over," she said. "When you're in Gaza, it's clear that there is no real ceasefire holding. There are bombs dropping every day, daily attacks, people being displaced over and over again."

Nevill highlighted the pattern that has been emerging.

"What we've really seen is donor fatigue when it comes to this crisis, and the attention has gone elsewhere. But now is not the time to look away. The international community needs to step up and sustain this support to people in Gaza," she warned.