Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoWFP / WEST BANK FUNDING SHORTFALL
STORY: WFP / WEST BANK FUNDING SHORTFALL
TRT: 2:48
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: AUGUST 2026, WEST BANK, PALESTINE
10 AUGUST 2026, UM AL KHEIR, WEST BANK, PALESTINE
1.Various shots, Salem looking across the land designated as a military zone. His goats are kept on the other side of the zone
Since the conflict in Gaza began in October 2023, tighter movement restrictions, demolitions and widespread displacement in the West Bank havedisrupted livelihoods and deepened hunger. Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank have been displaced and there have been more than 1,500settler attacks on communities already this year. The increased levels of settler violence and economic hardship are pushing families further into crisis.
2. Various shots, Salem in his home garden which has been damaged by livestock from the military zone
Food needs in the West Bank have more than doubled over the past two years; an estimated 900,000 people need food assistance this year, up from352,000 during the same period of 2023.
27 AUGUST 26, EAST JERUSALEM
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Kate Newton, WFP Deputy Country Director for Palestine:
“Communities across the West Bank are facing a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis. Movement restrictions, demolitions, displacement and aneconomic downturn have been increasingly affecting Palestinian communities.”
10 AUGUST 2026, UM AL KHEIR, WEST BANK, PALESTINE
4. Various shots, food is unloaded from WFP trucks for distributions in the West Bank
WFP had been supporting 400,000 people in the West Bank with cash and vouchers, in-kind assistance, livelihood support and nutrition services.Critical funding shortfalls mean WFP is now forced to slash its in-kind, cash and voucher assistance to 200,000 people.
27 AUGUST 26, EAST JERUSALEM
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Kate Newton, WFP Deputy Country Director for Palestine:
“WFP has been reaching up to 400,000 people consistently with food assistance every month in the West Bank. But now, because of a lack of funding,we're having to reduce that number by about half, right at the time when we should be sustaining and scaling up.”
4 AUGUST 2026, SADDET AL THA'LA, WEST BANK
6. Various shots, Intersar Khalid Hussein Awad and others at a nutrition session and being tested for malnutrition in the West Bank
A recent WFP analysis revealed that 12 percent of people in the West Bank have poor food consumption and a third of families cannot afford a nutritiousdiet due to a rapidly deteriorating economy. People living in rural areas and in the southern West Bank governates are the worst off.
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Intersar Khalid Hussein Awad, Displaced Mother of Four:
“We no longer have a source of income to buy everything our children need. As for fruits, I no longer buy them. Vegetables, I can’t get them. All mychildren used to eat three or four meals a day, now I can only secure for them two meals. The most important only.”
4 AUGUST 2026, YATTA, WEST BANK
8. Various shots, Intersar Khalid Hussein Awad using WFP-provided vouchers to purchase nutritionally diverse food for her family
Intersar receives a digital cash top up from WFP which can be used to purchase fresh foods at supported grocery stores. These products wouldotherwise be out of reach for families and it is a critical lifeline for those with young children to prevent malnutrition.
4 AUGUST 2026, SADDET AL THA'LA, WEST BANK, PALESTINE
9. Various shots, Intersar Khalid Hussein Awad and her children cooking and eating. The family has been displaced from their home after it was demolished bysettlers. They are currently living in a room their brother-in-law has provided
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today (1 Sep) announced that due to critical funding constraints, it is cutting in half the number of people it can support with food assistance in the West Bank. The reduction comes at a time when food needs have more than doubled since 2023.
Today an estimated 900,000 people are food insecure in the West Bank – with increased settler violence and displacement disrupting livelihoods, deepening hunger and pushing families further into crisis. WFP’s assistance to-date has been reaching 400,000 of the most vulnerable people, but this will be scaled back to 200,000 starting this month.
WFP’s latest quarterly food security analysis found that 76 percent of households in the West Bank have experienced a significant decline in income. Food and fuel prices remain among the highest in the Middle East, forcing many families to sell assets and reduce the number and quality of their meals to survive.
The analysis also found that 12 percent of people had poor food consumption, and one third of families could not afford a nutritious diet because of the rapidly deteriorating economy. People living in rural areas and in the southern West Bank governorates were identified as the most affected.
“Families who were once thriving and earning a living from their land are now unable to afford enough food,” said Shaun Hughes, WFP Country Director for Palestine. “At a time when WFP should be scaling up assistance to reach more people, we are being forced to make difficult decisions, prioritizing the most vulnerable while cutting assistance to others despite widespread needs. We urge the international community to act immediately and step up support for Palestinians.”
WFP, along with its partners, has been supporting families in the West Bank through cash and vouchers, food items, livelihood programs and nutritional services. A lack of funding has now forced WFP to pull back on this vital support.
Funding shortfalls are also affecting WFP’s operations in Gaza, where the agency supports 1.5 million people, including one million who receive monthly food assistance. In July, WFP reduced by 40 percent the cash value of its assistance for 375,000 people. Further cuts will be unavoidable unless additional funding is secured.
Over the next six months from September 2026, WFP urgently requires an additional USD 386 million to serve an estimated two million food insecure people across Gaza and the West Bank.
