Life-saving food deliveries suspended amidst deteriorating humanitarian situation.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily halted its “life-saving” aid operations to northern Gaza due to growing security concerns. The UN agency expressed regret over this decision, emphasizing the urgency of delivering aid but asserting that safe conditions must first be established before it can proceed with distributions.
The suspension comes at a critical moment, with Gaza’s population facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. The WFP noted that the region was teetering on the edge of famine, with hunger-related deaths already reported. The agency highlighted the severe shortage of food and clean water, widespread diseases, and alarming levels of malnutrition, particularly among women and children.
“The situation is dire. Thousands are at risk of starving, and conditions are worsening every day,” the WFP stated in a report. “Gaza is hanging by a thread, and we must reverse the current path towards catastrophe.”
The UN has warned that over 500,000 people in Gaza are on the brink of “catastrophic hunger,” with the risk of famine increasing daily. This crisis has been compounded by Israel’s blockade on many aid deliveries, with the UN noting that 80% of the aid trucks meant for northern Gaza were blocked in January.
Prior to this week’s suspension, the WFP had already paused its deliveries for three weeks following an Israeli strike on a UN aid truck. When efforts resumed, convoys were met with extreme challenges, including crowds of desperate people trying to board trucks, gunfire, and looting. The security situation deteriorated further when a second convoy faced complete chaos, including violence and the beating of a driver.
Despite these setbacks, northern Gaza was already grappling with severe food shortages. A joint report from WFP and UNICEF found that 15% of children under the age of two in the region were acutely malnourished. Nearly 3% of these children suffer from severe wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, putting them at immediate risk of death without urgent intervention.
UNICEF’s Ted Chaiban warned, “The Gaza Strip is on the verge of a preventable child mortality crisis. If the fighting continues, the health and nutrition of children will worsen, leading to long-term consequences for their lives and for generations to come.”
The ongoing conflict has already claimed over 27,000 Palestinian lives, the majority of whom are women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
