WFP halts distribution in northern Gaza until safety improves

The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) today announced that it had halted food distribution in northern Gaza until safety conditions there improve.

“The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger,” it said in a statement, adding that it remains committed to reaching people across the entire Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli attacks for months.

🆕STATEMENT: WFP is pausing the delivery of lifesaving food assistance to Northern Gaza until safe conditions are in place for our staff and the people we are trying to reach.

Our decision to pause deliveries to the north has not been taken lightly. The safety and security to… pic.twitter.com/eNc7d3kZDZ

— World Food Programme (@WFP) February 20, 2024

However, it said, the safety and security to deliver critical food aid and for the people receiving it must be ensured.

Stressing that the latest reports confirm Gaza’s slide into hunger and disease as food and safe water have become incredibly scarce and diseases are rife, it added: “WFP will seek ways to resume deliveries in a responsible manner as soon as possible. A large-scale expansion of the flow of assistance to northern Gaza is urgently needed to avoid disaster.”

Israeli occupation forces have shot at, killed and injured Palestinians as they seek out aid delivery trucks arriving in northern Gaza.

READ: Palestinians use animal feed amid flour scarcity in Gaza