West Bank Palestinians experience increasing hunger as UN reduces food aid assistance.

In the heart of the occupied West Bank, the plight of displaced Palestinians has reached a critical juncture, revealing not only the profound humanitarian challenges they face but also the resilience of their spirit. Amid the backdrop of increasing displacement due to military operations and funding cuts to humanitarian aid, families like Fawza Awad’s and Rabab Qasim’s embody the struggle for dignity and survival in the face of adversity. Their stories shed light on a larger narrative of loss, hope, and the unwavering desire for stability and peace.

Tulkarem, occupied West Bank – Fawza Awad, a 75-year-old widow, weeps openly as she recounts the harsh living conditions she has faced since being displaced from the Tulkarem refugee camp in January 2025. This upheaval followed an Israeli military operation that targeted refugee camps in northern West Bank, forcibly displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. With limited resources, Fawza and her family sought shelter in an unfinished house in Tulkarem belonging to her daughter, where they now reside in close quarters with her son, his wife, and their child.

Previously reliant on financial and food assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP), Fawza’s family has not received aid in the past five months. The WFP announced a 50 percent reduction in food assistance recipients in the occupied West Bank in September, citing “critical funding constraints” resulting from decreased contributions from international donors. This reduction comes against a backdrop of soaring food needs; since 2023, following the commencement of intensified conflicts in Gaza and escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, food insecurity has dramatically increased. The WFP has indicated that nearly 900,000 people in the West Bank are currently facing food shortages.

Fawza and her family now struggle without the support that was once a lifeline. The Israeli army has completely demolished her former home, converting the area into a wide road to facilitate military movements. While she shares that one of her sons has been detained since 2024, her other sons, previously employed in Israel, are now unemployed. With health issues including asthma and high blood pressure, which necessitate monthly medication costing 200 shekels (), the absence of aid leaves her family vulnerable and desperate.

Nearby, at the al-Muwahhad School building in Tulkarem’s Thannabeh suburb, over 1,000 displaced Palestinians find refuge, including Rabab Qasim and her husband Talib Abu Sarriya, alongside their three children. Living for two consecutive years in a cramped 30-square-meter (320sq-foot) room, the family relies entirely on external aid, which has halted entirely following the WFP’s recent cuts. Rabab, suffering from a herniated disc, voices her anguish: “I cannot afford the 300 shekels () needed for my treatment, nor have I been able to access physical therapy.”

According to Talib, the family frequently goes to sleep hungry, a stark contrast to their previous life where he owned a small vegetable stall, providing them with sufficient income. The ongoing humanitarian crisis, as reported by WFP, has been exacerbated by forced displacements and rising violence, negatively impacting livelihoods and intensifying hunger. The WFP’s quarterly food security analysis indicates that 76 percent of Palestinian households in the West Bank have experienced a decline in income, with one-third unable to afford a healthy diet.

Said al-Amour, a 61-year-old resident of Khirbet al-Rakeez in Masafer Yatta, echoes the sentiment of hardship. A member of his family for 14, Said reports no assistance from the WFP for the past seven months. After being shot by a settler in 2025, he underwent an amputation and regularly faces assaults. “They are trying to steal our land. I refuse to let them take it. But now, the aid I depended on has also been cut,” he laments.

Despite WFP’s continued assistance to 200,000 Palestinians through various measures, the organization has acknowledged the funding shortfalls that hinder their ability to meet every family’s needs. They clarify that the cessation of aid hinges on broad organizational decisions rather than individual eligibility assessments.

Expert opinions, such as those from economist and human rights activist Ubai Aboudi, point to a humanitarian crisis compounded by an ongoing financial crisis within the Palestinian Authority, exacerbated further by Israel’s withholding of customs revenues since May 2025. Thousands of Palestinians reliant on work permits in Israel have also been adversely affected since restrictions were enforced in late 2023.

Aboudi stresses the urgency of the situation, noting that around half a million Palestinian families desperately require food assistance, a need that is growing more critical as support diminishes. The international community’s response will be vital in addressing this multifaceted crisis and reaffirming their commitment to the dignity and resilience of the Palestinian people.

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