WFP Head: Nearly 1.4 Million People in Gaza Face Crisis-Level Food Insecurity; Funding Shortfall Will Force Cuts to About 500,000 People

Jerusalem — More than two-thirds of Gaza's population — nearly 1.4 million people — are experiencing crisis levels of acute food insecurity, Carl Skau, acting executive director of the UN World Food Programme, said in an NPR interview broadcast on October 18, following his eighth trip to Gaza since the war. "Life is absolutely brutal in Gaza," Skau said. "There is no basic services. There is massive destruction. There is no proper shelter. And frankly, the insecurity continues."

Skau said staff at one distribution point told him someone had been killed there the day before, and that there was shooting at the exit point as his team left. "We record some average 50 security incidents per day," he said. The WFP has been reaching about 2 million people every month and has "been able to push back on famine," he said, "but that progress is fragile, and it can easily be reversed."

On funding, Skau said the agency is "being forced to cut" almost half a million people off assistance in the next few weeks. "It's not because the needs are down. It's also not because we are not able to bring in food. It's because the funding is no longer there," he said, urging donors to step up funding and calling for a push on early recovery, including proper housing and shelter before winter, and for commercial channels to resume so aid can shift to cash distributions.

On the flow of goods, Skau said a disagreement over taxation for commercial goods was "deeply concerning": when he was in Gaza, no commercial goods had entered for five days, though some commercial trucks were later seen moving. Much of what enters is "chocolates and chips and Cokes," he said, rather than the fresh foods and vegetables needed. He also cited dual-use restrictions preventing UNICEF and other partners from bringing in what they need to restore water and sanitation facilities, and learning materials for temporary learning centres, warning that with garbage everywhere, "when the rains start hitting, it's going to be an absolute mess."

(GSM, via NPR)

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：人道主义援助物资在加沙齐基姆口岸装卸（美军资料图，非本次采访现场）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，美国陆军 Michael Ito 上士摄，公共领域 / Photo: Humanitarian aid being handled at the Zikim crossing into Gaza (file photo, not the interview). Source: Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Ito, public domain.

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