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STORY: CAIRO / MIDDLE EAST WFP INTERVIEW
TRT: 5:15
SOURCE: UN NEWS / FILE
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 11 MARCH 2026, CAIRO, EGYPT / FILE
FILE
1.Close up, UN flag
11 MARCH 2026, CAIRO, EGYPT
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe:
“In the Gaza Strip, we are running humanitarian operations aimed at delivering food assistance to about 1.6 million people every month. But as soon as the crisis erupted on 28 February and the crossings into the territory were closed, the price of flour in Gaza’s local market increased by 270 per cent. One can imagine what this means for people who depend on food assistance. When crossings are closed—even for just a few days—we are forced to reduce the food rations we provide to individuals. After the truce reached in October, we were able to deliver 100 per cent of the full food ration to 1.6 million people. Now, however, we are being forced to consider reducing that ration to only about 25 per cent of an individual’s needs. That is why it is extremely important for us that these crossings remain open. As for the Strait of Hormuz, any disruption there directly affects global supply chains. The entire transport sector is impacted, including shipping, energy and fertilizer markets. This means that the agricultural sector will also be affected, since a large portion of global fertilizer supplies passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Any disruption in this vital corridor leads to reduced supplies, declining agricultural production and rising global food prices. At the same time, we have seen a noticeable rise in oil prices in most countries, which has increased fuel and transportation costs and raised the risk of a return of global inflation, with direct impacts on food prices worldwide. For the World Food Programme, these developments place additional pressure on the supply chains we rely on to deliver assistance to those in need, and they also lead to a significant increase in the cost of our humanitarian operations.”
[Arabic transcription]
. ففي قطاع غزة، لدينا عمليات إنسانية نحاول من خلالها إيصال مساعدات غذائية إلى نحو 1.6 مليون شخص شهريا. لكن بمجرد اندلاع الأزمة في 28 شباط/فبراير وإغلاق المعابر المؤدية إلى القطاع، ارتفع سعر الطحين في السوق المحلية في غزة بنسبة 270 في المائة.
ويمكننا أن نتخيل ما يعنيه ذلك بالنسبة للأشخاص الذين يعتمدون على المساعدات الغذائية. فعندما تُغلق المعابر حتى لبضعة أيام فقط، نضطر إلى تقليص الحصص الغذائية التي نقدمها للأفراد. وبعد الهدنة التي تم التوصل إليها في شهر تشرين الأول/أكتوبر، تمكنا من إيصال 100 في المائة من الحصة الغذائية الكاملة إلى 1.6 مليون شخص.
أما الآن، فنحن مضطرون للنظر في خفض هذه الحصة إلى نحو 25 في المائة فقط من احتياجات الفرد. لذلك من المهم للغاية بالنسبة لنا أن تبقى هذه المعابر مفتوحة.
أما فيما يتعلق بمضيق هرمز، فإن أي اضطراب فيه يؤثر بشكل مباشر على سلاسل الإمداد العالمية. فقطاع النقل بأكمله يتأثر، بما في ذلك الشحن والطاقة وأسواق الأسمدة. وهذا يعني أن القطاع الزراعي سيتأثر أيضا، إذ إن جزءا كبيرا من إمدادات الأسمدة العالمية يمر عبر مضيق هرمز. وأي تعطّل في هذا الممر الحيوي يؤدي إلى انخفاض الإمدادات، وتراجع الإنتاج الزراعي، وارتفاع أسعار الغذاء على مستوى العالم.
وفي الوقت نفسه، شهدنا ارتفاعا ملحوظا في أسعار النفط في معظم الدول، مما أدى إلى زيادة تكاليف الوقود والنقل، ورفع مخاطر عودة التضخم العالمي، مع تأثيرات مباشرة على أسعار الغذاء في جميع أنحاء العالم.
وبالنسبة لنا في برنامج الأغذية العالمي، فإن هذه التطورات تفرض ضغوطا إضافية على سلاسل الإمداد التي نعتمد عليها لإيصال المساعدات إلى المحتاجين، كما تؤدي إلى زيادة ملحوظة في تكاليف عملياتنا الإنسانية.
FILE
3. Close up, UN flag
11 MARCH 2026, CAIRO, EGYPT
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe:
“Let me give you an example from Lebanon, which was the first country where we were able to begin responding immediately to the crisis. About 11 or 12 days after the crisis began, around 84,000 Syrians living in Lebanon returned to Syria, and of course they need assistance inside Syria. Around 9,000 Lebanese citizens also crossed into Syria and require support. Inside Lebanon itself, more than 700,000 people have been displaced from the south or the southern suburbs to other areas or to shelters. There are currently about 580 shelters in Lebanon, and we are supporting around 215 of them. Around 52,000 people receive daily food assistance after arriving at these shelters, and we continue to provide cash assistance to about 180,000 people in Lebanon affected by the current war. Naturally, there are also thousands of people who need our assistance due to food insecurity or because of their refugee status. Because of the funding shortage, we have had to rely on the limited resources available to us. That is why we are appealing to all donors to increase their support for our operations in Lebanon and Syria. For example, during the month of Ramadan, we had to announce in Jordan the suspension of assistance for 135,000 Syrian refugees due to funding shortages. In Egypt, we also announced this month that we are forced to suspend support for 250,000 Sudanese refugees for the same reason. This is why we need more funding to meet needs that already existed before the crisis and have multiplied since it began. In Iran, we are assisting around 33,000 Afghan refugees living in camps inside the country. Our information indicates that some Afghans living in host communities have begun moving into these camps, which increases pressure on humanitarian services and requires the expansion of assistance. We are therefore working with various stakeholders to closely monitor the situation to ensure that our humanitarian operations are directed effectively and that assistance reaches those in need in a safe and sustainable manner.”
[Arabic transcription]
سامر عبد الجابر: سأعطيك مثالا من لبنان، وهو أول بلد تمكّنا فيه من العمل ضمن الاستجابة الفورية للأزمة. فإذا نظرنا إلى الوضع بعد نحو 11 أو 12 يوما من اندلاع الأزمة، نجد أن قرابة 84 ألف شخص من السوريين المقيمين في لبنان قد عادوا إلى سوريا. وهؤلاء بطبيعة الحال يحتاجون إلى مساعدات داخل سوريا.
كما عبر نحو 9 آلاف لبناني إلى سوريا أيضا وهم بحاجة إلى الدعم. أما داخل لبنان نفسه، فقد نزح أكثر من 700 ألف شخص من مناطق الجنوب أو الضاحية إلى مناطق أخرى أو إلى مراكز إيواء. ويوجد حاليا نحو 580 مركز إيواء في لبنان، ونحن نقدم الدعم لنحو 215 مركزا منها.
ويحصل نحو 52 ألف شخص على مساعدات غذائية يومية منذ وصولهم إلى مراكز الإيواء، كما نواصل تقديم مساعدات نقدية لنحو 180 ألف شخص في لبنان من المتضررين من الحرب الحالية.
وبطبيعة الحال، هناك أيضا آلاف الأشخاص الذين يحتاجون إلى مساعداتنا بسبب انعدام الأمن الغذائي أو بسبب أوضاع اللجوء. ونظرا لنقص التمويل، اضطررنا إلى استخدام الموارد المتاحة لدينا رغم محدوديتها. ولذلك نناشد جميع الدول المانحة زيادة دعمها لعملياتنا في لبنان وسوريا.
فعلى سبيل المثال، اضطررنا في الأردن خلال شهر رمضان إلى الإعلان عن وقف المساعدات لنحو 135 ألف لاجئ سوري بسبب نقص التمويل. وفي مصر، أعلنا هذا الشهر أيضا أننا مضطرون إلى وقف الدعم عن 250 ألف لاجئ سوداني للسبب نفسه. لذلك نحن بحاجة إلى تمويل أكبر لتلبية الاحتياجات التي كانت قائمة قبل الأزمة والتي تضاعفت مع تفاقمها.
FILE
5. Close up, UN flag
WFP - 09 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
6. Various shots, destructions
WFP - 06 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
7. Various shots, displaced families
8. Various shots, WFP hot meals distribution at Jamil Rawas Official Boys’ School
WFP - 07 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
9. Various shots, families receive WFP hot meals in shelters
Rising food prices, growing displacement and disruptions to global supply routes are placing millions of people across the Middle East at greater risk of hunger, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), which warns that the humanitarian system is struggling to keep pace with expanding needs.
In an interview with UN News on Wednesday (11 Mar), Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said the agency is working to sustain food assistance operations across roughly ten countries in the region, in addition to Afghanistan. Preliminary estimates indicate that about $200 million will be needed to support humanitarian operations over the next three months. He spoke from Cairo, Egypt.
“The food security situation in the Middle East was already difficult even before this crisis, and recent developments have made it worse,” Abdeljaber said.
The region faces a complex mix of economic fragility, conflict and supply disruptions that are affecting the availability and affordability of food. Global supply chains have come under additional strain due to geopolitical tensions and risks affecting key maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, both crucial corridors for energy, fertilizer and commercial shipping.
According to Abdeljaber, disruptions along these routes can ripple across global markets. “Any disruption in this vital corridor leads to reduced supplies, declining agricultural production and rising global food prices,” he said, noting that higher oil prices are already pushing up transportation and fuel costs worldwide.
Flour Prices in Gaza Surge 270 percent
The impact is already being felt in several crisis-affected areas.
In the Gaza Strip, WFP is attempting to deliver food assistance to about 1.6 million people every month. However, the closure of crossings following the escalation of the crisis on 28 February triggered a sharp spike in local food prices.
“The price of flour in Gaza’s local market increased by 270 per cent,” Abdeljaber said. “When crossings are closed—even for just a few days—we are forced to reduce the food rations we provide to individuals.”
Following a truce in October, WFP had been able to provide 100 per cent of the full food ration to those in need. But current conditions may force the agency to reduce that assistance dramatically. “Now we are being forced to consider reducing that ration to only about 25 per cent of an individual’s needs,” he explained.
Elsewhere in the region, large-scale displacement is increasing pressure on humanitarian operations.
In Lebanon, more than 700,000 people have been displaced internally, many moving from southern areas or the southern suburbs of Beirut to other regions or temporary shelters. Approximately 580 shelters have been established across the country, with WFP currently supporting 215 of them.
Within these shelters, around 52,000 people receive daily food assistance, while 180,000 individuals receive cash support to help meet their basic needs.
The regional crisis has also triggered cross-border movements. Around 84,000 Syrian refugees have returned to Syria from Lebanon, while approximately 9,000 Lebanese citizens have crossed into Syria in search of safety and assistance.
“These people of course need support inside Syria,” Abdeljaber noted.
Despite expanding needs, humanitarian agencies are facing a severe funding shortage that is forcing difficult decisions.
During the month of Ramadan, WFP announced that it had to suspend assistance for about 135,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan due to lack of funding. In Egypt, the agency has also been forced to halt support for 250,000 Sudanese refugees.
“This is why we need more funding to meet needs that already existed before the crisis and have multiplied since it began,” Abdeljaber said.
In Iran, the programme is currently assisting around 33,000 Afghan refugees living in camps. However, WFP has observed that some Afghans living in host communities are now moving into these camps, placing additional strain on humanitarian services.
Beyond direct assistance, rising global prices are also eroding the purchasing power of vulnerable communities.
“In any country where fuel prices rise, the price of bread rises immediately, and transportation costs increase as well,” Abdeljaber explained. “Even when we give people cash assistance, the money goes to markets where prices have already increased, reducing their purchasing power.”
With humanitarian needs growing rapidly, WFP is appealing to governments, donors and the private sector to step up support.
“We believe it is important to remain optimistic and work proactively,” Abdeljaber said. “We are working with Member States, donors and the private sector in the hope that we can secure the funding needed to help people in this difficult situation.”
Despite the challenges, WFP staff across the region continue their work in difficult conditions.
“In all the countries and places where we operate… our teams remain committed to doing everything they can to assist those affected by this crisis,” Abdeljaber concluded.
