Gaza families brace for 'another famine' as UN cuts food aid

Ola Shamali and her family of nine have begun cutting back on food, bracing for hunger after the World Food Programme (WFP) announced a one-third reduction in food assistance to Gaza. Funding shortages will leave half a million people without access to critical aid, the UN agency said earlier this week. The announcement has sent fear throughout Gaza of a return to a severe hunger crisis in the strip, a year after Israel ’s siege led to famine. “It means we are going to live on the edge of famine,” said the Palestinian mother. “My father is still suffering from the deteriorating health caused by last year’s famine.” New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Her 78-year-old father, Mohammed Shamali, has bladder cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. He needs a stable, nutritious diet, but the family can barely afford to provide it. His diet should include protein- and fibre-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts and meat. Until now, Ola has sold part of the family’s WFP food assistance to buy some of these items for him. Now, she fears the reduced aid will leave the family with too little food, and no means of securing the nutrition her father needs. The family lives in a makeshift displacement tent on Al Wihda Street in Gaza City. Their home in Al Shujaiya, in eastern Gaza, was destroyed in March 2025. 'Death is more merciful than this life' - Ola Shamali, Palestinian mother When Shamali heard the news of the cuts on the radio inside her tent, she wanted to go to the market to buy vegetables and other essentials for the coming days. She feared prices would climb further or restrictions would once again limit food entering Gaza. But she had no money to buy anything. “We don’t have money to buy food,” she told Middle East Eye. “We completely depend on the charity distribution of food. If it stops, we will die of hunger.” Life in the tent is already a daily struggle, she said, with no privacy, proper sanitation or electricity. Rain earlier this week damaged the shelter, forcing the family to repair it. “We are living a miserable life in tents,” she said. “And now they want to reduce the food portions entering Gaza. Death is more merciful than this life.” Shamali’s family is among around 1.8 million people living in displacement sites across Gaza. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), nearly two-thirds of families live in tents or makeshift shelters that deteriorate quickly in harsh weather. Designed for temporary use, they offer little protection against the elements. Food prices soar Ahmed Jelow, 28, was walking with friends near his makeshift displacement tent in central Gaza City when he heard about the WFP announcement. “I checked social media for updates, then called my aunts, uncles and some friends, urging them to buy white flour if they could afford it. Every period of starvation in Gaza began with cuts like this,” he said. “The WFP food parcels contained beans, white flour, oil and pasta. The quantities were small, but they helped feed my family and me.” Jelow lives with eight family members in a makeshift tent at a displacement shelter in Gaza City. He and his brother Adnan are the family’s main breadwinners. Israel’s starvation of Gaza leaves children stunted Read More » Their father was killed in Israeli attacks in 2014. Another brother was killed last year. Fearing further border closures or restrictions on food supplies, Jelow went to the market to stock up on tinned food, white flour and oil. He was shocked to find that prices had already risen. “Most food products have gone up in price. A 25-kilogram bag of white flour used to cost 70 shekels [$22]. Now it costs 150 shekels [$48]. A kilo of sugar has risen from four shekels to seven, while a tray of eggs has jumped from 28 shekels [$9] to 55 [$17],” he said. “I bought a few things that could last for 10 days, but it is not enough,” he added. Jelow works as a musician at traditional weddings, earning as little as 50 shekels [$16] on a good day. If prices continue to rise and food assistance is cut further, he fears he will no longer be able to feed his family. He said many people he knows, including his relatives, are terrified of returning to what he called the “nightmare of starvation” they endured during the first two years of Israel’s genocide. “We ate one meal a day, usually soup or lentils, which did not provide even the minimum energy our bodies needed,” he recalled. “One day, we made bread from white flour contaminated with rat droppings. We cleaned it and ate it because we had no other choice. “People risked their lives trying to get flour from areas near Israeli checkpoints. Many of my friends were killed while trying to do so.” ‘We don't want to starve again’ Nasser al-Shurafa, 56, a displaced father of four living in Tal al-Hawa, west of Gaza City, went to three bakeries to buy bread, as he does every day. To his shock, all three were closed. “They said they had no white flour because the borders were closed,” he said. 'I believe we are going to suffer from starvation again' - Nasser Al Shurafa, Palestinian father He added that some traders were also raising the prices of flour and vegetables, fearing Israeli forces would further restrict the entry of commercial trucks into Gaza. The price of a kilogram of onions had jumped from four shekels to 15, while potatoes had risen from five to around 22 shekels a kilogram. Tomatoes had climbed from eight to 25 shekels. “My children have a clothing stall, and they work day by day. When they work, we can bring food home for one day,” he said. “We cannot afford to buy food before it runs out of the markets. “For three years, we have been suffering and living an unbearable life, deprived of even the most basic of our human rights. I believe we are going to suffer from starvation again. “We appeal to the WFP, the UN and all powerful organisations and institutions around the world to protect us from another famine." Copyright © 2014 - 2026 . Middle East Eye. 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