Ramallah: The UN World Food Program (WFP) announced Tuesday that it is halving food assistance in the occupied West Bank due to funding shortages, reducing beneficiaries from 400,000 to 200,000.

According to Qatar News Agency, WFP Representative in the Palestinian Territories Shaun Hughes stated that the number of people receiving assistance would be cut by half as food needs have more than doubled over the past two years. He warned that around 200,000 people would lose vital assistance as of Tuesday.

Hughes indicated that approximately 900,000 people in the West Bank face food insecurity, which accounts for more than a quarter of the population, compared with 11 percent two years ago. More than one-third of the population also struggles to meet basic needs and afford nutritious food despite supplies being available in markets.

In a statement, WFP mentioned that escalating settler violence and displacement are disrupting livelihoods, worsening hunger, and pushing families further into hardship. The funding crisis is also threatening WFP operations in Gaza, where it assists around 1.5 million people, including one million receiving monthly food aid. In July, the program cut cash assistance by 40 percent for around 375,000 people.

WFP emphasized the need for USD 386 million over the next six months to assist nearly two million food-insecure people in Gaza and the West Bank.