Amid rising fears of renewed famine
Food Aid Cuts Spark Protests in Gaza
Collected Photo
Displaced Palestinians protested outside a distribution center run by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza after the aid organization decided to scale back hot meal distribution. Protesters warned that continued cuts in assistance could push the territory back toward famine.
Dozens of men, women, and children gathered Tuesday outside the organization’s distribution center in the Al-Masdar area of central Gaza. Carrying placards, they demanded the continuation of food assistance. Many also beat empty cooking pots in protest.
World Central Kitchen said it had been forced to reduce food distribution because of financial constraints. The organization, however, stressed that the humanitarian need in Gaza has not declined.
The group previously provided meals for nearly one million people a day. It said it would continue distributing several hundred thousand hot meals daily despite the reductions.
An elderly Palestinian woman, who declined to be identified, said charity kitchens have become the main source of survival for displaced families.
“We are completely dependent on this food. We cannot afford to buy food, and we have no cooking gas or fuel,” she said.
She added that many families have already gone hungry for days and warned that further aid cuts could worsen famine conditions.
Abdel Hadi Muslim, one of the protest organizers, said thousands of families in the Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps had lost access to daily meals following the reduction in food distribution. He urged World Central Kitchen to reconsider its decision and called on international donors and aid organizations to continue their support.
The organization had previously reduced assistance as well. Earlier this year, Gaza’s Government Media Office said World Central Kitchen had halted flour support for bakeries selling subsidized bread.
According to WCK, around 1.6 million people in Gaza are currently facing severe food insecurity, including more than 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving nearly 2.4 million people in severe hardship. Various sources say more than 72,000 people have been killed and over 172,000 injured in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.
