West Bank Palestinians Face Worsening Hunger as UN Food Aid Cuts Bite

Fawza Awad, a 75-year-old widow displaced from the Tulkarem refugee camp in January 2025 due to an Israeli military operation, is struggling to feed her family. After being forcibly displaced from her home, she found shelter in a small, unfinished house in Tulkarem with her son, his wife, and their child. The family previously depended on assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP), but have not received any aid for the past five months. The WFP announced a 50 percent reduction in food aid recipients in the occupied West Bank in September, citing critical funding constraints due to reduced international funding. Meanwhile, food needs have more than doubled since 2023, with the WFP noting that approximately 900,000 people in the West Bank are currently experiencing food insecurity. Fawza's former home in the Tulkarem refugee camp was reportedly demolished by the Israeli army. Her son has been detained by Israel since 2024, and her other sons, formerly employed in Israel, are now unemployed. Fawza also suffers from asthma and high blood pressure, requiring medication she cannot afford.

In the al-Muwahhad School building in Tulkarem, over 1,000 Palestinians displaced from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps are sheltering. Among them are Rabab Qasim, 47, her husband Talib Abu Sarriya, 72, and their three children, who have been living in a 30-square-metre room for two consecutive years. They have had no source of income and relied entirely on aid until the WFP food assistance cuts three months ago. Rabab suffers from a herniated disc, requiring costly monthly treatment and physical therapy she cannot access. Talib mentioned that the family often goes to sleep hungry, a stark contrast to their former life in the Tulkarem refugee camp where he owned a small vegetable stall.

The WFP attributes the escalating humanitarian crisis to increasing Israeli pogroms and forced displacements in the West Bank, which have devastated livelihoods and deepened hunger. A recent WFP analysis indicates that 76 percent of Palestinian households in the West Bank have seen a significant income decline, with 12 percent experiencing poor food consumption and one-third unable to afford a healthy diet. Said al-Amour, 61, from Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, has not received WFP assistance for seven months. He lost a leg in April 2025 after being shot by a settler, resulting in permanent disability and ongoing assaults. He requires expensive monthly medical treatment and has no income other than a few olive trees threatened by settlers.

Despite these challenges, the WFP continues to provide assistance to 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank through various programs. However, the agency stated it lacks the resources to meet the needs of all families requiring assistance. The cessation of aid is a broad decision affecting all current beneficiaries, though future reinstatement for some is possible. Economist and human rights activist Ubai Aboudi highlighted that the West Bank faces a humanitarian and financial crisis, compounded by Israel withholding customs revenues from the Palestinian Authority (PA) since May 2025. Additionally, tens of thousands of Palestinians previously employed in Israel and illegal settlements have been jobless since October 2023. Restrictions on NGOs by Israel have further limited humanitarian aid delivery. Aboudi estimates that around half a million Palestinian families need food assistance, a figure that may be an underestimate, and with declining aid, many families are struggling to secure food.