WFP "reduces food support to 500,000 people in Gaza due to lack of funds"

"Two-thirds of the population is 'food insecure'... dependent on relief goods."

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwak Min-seo = The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) recently announced that it will significantly reduce food aid to the Gaza Strip in Palestine due to a lack of funds.

According to Reuters and the British BBC on the 18th (local time), WFP announced that the number of monthly food aid recipients in the Gaza Strip is expected to decrease by 500,000 from the current 1.6 million to 1.1 million.

The number of meals provided at community feeding centers will decrease from 250,000 to 150,000 meals per day, and the number of flour and food ration boxes provided by WFP to Gaza residents every month will also decrease from 1.1 million to 600,000.

Sean Hughes, WFP's director for Palestine, told the BBC that the reduction was "due to financial reasons" and "not because the need for support has diminished or because we have not been able to secure relevant supplies."

According to the BBC, this year's WFP's aid budget for Palestine has been reduced to less than half of last year's level.

WFP said it urgently needs about $450 million (about 599 billion won) to sustain its core business over the next six months.

In particular, this measure to reduce support is being implemented ahead of the harsh winter season while the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues.

According to the WFP, 1.4 million people in the Gaza Strip, or about two-thirds of the population, are currently at a 'crisis' level of food insecurity.

The BBC reported that although the food market is well supplied, more than 80% of residents are unemployed and most of them rely on aid.

Israel strictly controls the entry of materials into the Gaza Strip even after the ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian armed faction Hamas.

In particular, it has been reported that most refugee families are unable to even obtain fuel to heat food as the Israeli government defines cooking gas as a 'dual use' item that can be diverted for military purposes.

Since the firewood that can be found is expensive, children are baking bread using paper boxes or plastic they pick up on the streets.