[Today’s Prayer] World Food Programme to Suspend Food Assistance for 500,000 Gaza Residents Due to Funding Shortages

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has decided to suspend regular food and cash assistance for 500,000 residents of the Gaza Strip in Palestine due to a lack of funding.

As humanitarian aid operations are being significantly reduced while the food needs of Gaza’s residents remain urgent, concerns are growing that the humanitarian crisis will worsen.

According to AFP, Sean Hughes, head of the WFP’s Palestine office, announced on the 19th (local time), “Starting this month, we will have to remove 500,000 people from among those we have been supporting.”

As a result, the number of Gaza residents receiving food or cash assistance from the WFP will decrease by approximately 31%, from 1.6 million to 1.1 million. This represents roughly half of Gaza’s total population of approximately 2.1 million.

In an interview with the BBC on the same day, Hughes also announced plans to reduce assistance to Gaza’s residents, explaining that this was “not because the needs have decreased, nor because we cannot access the people.” In other words, the reduction in assistance is entirely due to financial difficulties.

(Excerpt)

Most residents of the Gaza Strip are still living as displaced people, and two-thirds of the population depend on food aid to survive.

However, the WFP stated, “The funding secured for humanitarian operations in Palestine this year is less than half of what was available in previous years.” It added that “$450 million (approximately 600 billion Korean won) is urgently needed just to maintain essential humanitarian operations over the next six months.”

The BBC also reported that cash assistance for approximately 500,000 people in Gaza had already been reduced in July, further limiting their ability to purchase food in local markets.

(Excerpt)

Hughes expressed concern, saying, “Most people in Gaza are still living in tents without proper homes, and their access to water, sanitation facilities, and medical services remains inadequate. The reduction in food assistance will further intensify the suffering that families have endured over the past three years.”

(Excerpt)

Source: News1

“He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.” (Psalm 111:4–5)

We hear the news that two-thirds of Gaza’s residents depend on food aid, and that the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is reducing its humanitarian operations, including food and cash assistance for Gaza’s residents, due to funding shortages.

Lord, please remember the souls of Gaza. Have mercy on the people of Gaza who have lost their homes and livelihoods because of the war and who can no longer find work to sustain themselves, leaving them struggling to obtain food on their own.

LORD God, who promised to hear Ishmael’s cries in his suffering, please listen to the cries of the people of Gaza at this time. Please ensure that the funding and supplies needed for humanitarian assistance in Palestine are not lacking, and guide the efforts so that the helping hands of relief organizations never cease reaching those in need.

May the churches around the world joyfully offer what they have to God and serve the people of Palestine. Help them to pray without ceasing and witness the work of faith together.

May the Palestinian church, in reverence for God, step forward on behalf of suffering Gaza. May it comfort the people in the name of Jesus and become a church that saves lives through the gospel.

In this way, may the Palestinian people place their hope not in the perishable things of this earthly world, but in the eternal kingdom of God, and testify to Jesus Christ among the suffering nations of the world!