Displaced West Bank Palestinians face growing hunger after UN cuts food aid

What Happened

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced a 50 percent reduction in food aid recipients in the occupied West Bank in September, citing critical funding constraints. Food needs have more than doubled since 2023, and WFP estimates approximately 900,000 people in the West Bank are food insecure. Displaced families from Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, forced from their homes by an Israeli military operation in January 2025, report receiving no WFP aid for months. Fawza Awad, a 75-year-old widow, said the Israeli army demolished her Tulkarem camp home and replaced it with a road for military vehicles. At al-Muwahhad School in Thannabeh, more than 1,000 displaced Palestinians shelter; residents Rabab Qasim, 47, and Talib Abu Sarriya, 72, said their family has received no aid for three months and frequently goes hungry. In Masafer Yatta, Said al-Amour, 61, said he was shot by a settler in April 2025, resulting in leg amputation, and his 14-person family has had no WFP assistance for seven months. WFP attributed deepening hunger to Israeli attacks and forced displacements, stating that 76 percent of Palestinian households in the West Bank have experienced significant income decline.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The aid cuts compound an already severe humanitarian crisis in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military operations and settler attacks have displaced thousands and destroyed livelihoods. With 900,000 people food insecure and WFP resources insufficient, hunger is deepening in areas already experiencing violence, potentially fueling further instability and displacement.

Watch For

Monitor WFP donor funding announcements and any restoration of aid; Israeli military operations in Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and other northern West Bank refugee camps; settler attacks in Masafer Yatta and southern West Bank governorates; and any UN or partner agency statements on expanded assistance or unmet needs.