Thousands of displaced Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are experiencing severe food shortages following a major reduction in international aid. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) officially announced a 50 percent cut to its food assistance recipients in the West Bank in September, attributing the move to critical funding constraints caused by declining support from donor nations. The decision comes as food needs in the region have more than doubled since 2023, leaving approximately 900,000 West Bank residents facing food insecurity.
Among those affected is 75-year-old Fawza Awad, a widow who was forcibly displaced from the Tulkarem refugee camp in January 2025 during an Israeli military operation that targeted refugee camps in the northern West Bank. Awad currently lives in an unfinished section of a small house in Tulkarem owned by her daughter, sharing the space with her son, his wife, and their child. Her former home was completely demolished by the Israeli military to construct a road for military vehicles. Awad noted that one of her sons has been detained by Israel since 2024, while her other sons lost their jobs after previously working inside Israel.
Although Awad's family previously relied on limited assistance from the WFP, they have received no food aid for the past five months. "I suffer from asthma and high blood pressure, requiring monthly medication that costs at least 200 shek
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