Kyung Nan Park, an official from the World Food Programme, announced today, Thursday, that the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip are severely lacking sufficient food and facing malnutrition after a month of a deadly siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian territory. Park, the emergency director at the UN program, stated, "Before October 7, 33 percent of the population was suffering from food insecurity... We can safely say that 100 percent are suffering from food insecurity at this moment."
She added that the World Food Programme needs $112 million to reach 1.1 million people in Gaza in the next 90 days, stating, "They are at risk of malnutrition." Furthermore, she mentioned that in addition to funding, the program also requires regular and safe access to Gaza in order to reach those in need. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that since the Rafah crossing was reopened for humanitarian supplies on October 21, the daily average number of trucks entering Gaza has dropped to less than 19 percent of what it was before the conflict.
Kyung Nan indicated, "We are now bringing in between 40 to 50 trucks... For the food assistance provided by the World Food Programme alone, we will need 100 trucks daily in order to provide sufficient food for the residents of Gaza." She further noted that the program's own staff in Gaza do not have enough food. She reported that the program had been working with over 23 bakeries in the densely populated area, but only one remains operational due to fuel and supply shortages. She continued, "There are stories of people going there, standing in line for ten days, and then leaving empty-handed... It is very dire."
