‘Pushed to the brink of starvation’: WFP says Gaza needs more food aid

Displaced Palestinians in Gaza have been “pushed to the brink of starvation” according to the World Food Programme. 

Speaking to Euronews in Rome, where WFP has its headquarters, Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau says the situation in Gaza is “really really desperate. Really dire.” 

Most people in Gaza rely on international aid, but food deliveries have been facing more restrictions as Israel continues its offensive, which started after a deadly attack by Hamas and other militants on Israeli settlements on 7 October. 

An estimated 85% of people living in Gaza are now displaced, with almost the entire population of 2.2 million facing extreme hunger, agencies warn. 

“A quarter of the population, 500,000 people, are in catastrophic levels and it’s unprecedented… its scale its gravity but also at the pace of how things are moving at the moment,” Skau tells Euronews.

“We might have a famine around the corner unless we have a major change in terms of how our assistance is reaching the most vulnerable people,” he adds. 

Compared to before the war the daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza has dropped from more than 500 to just 30.

The WFP’s Carl Skau says there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in bringing food aid from either Jordan or Egypt into Gaza which needs to be simplified. 

“There’s nothing to wait for here. We need to change the situation now in order to save lives on a daily basis,” he adds. 

Watch our full report from Rome in the video player above.