WFP: Gaza Food Supplies Exhausted Amid Unrelenting Israeli Siege

 

Gaza has entered a phase of “actual famine,” Hamas said, after the UN’s World Food Programme announced it has exhausted its food supplies.

Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), announced on Friday that the organization has run out of food supplies in Gaza, where Israel has blocked humanitarian aid deliveries for seven consecutive weeks.

Speaking to the BBC, McCain confirmed that WFP had dispatched its final truckload of food, stressing that nothing remains. 

She described the situation in Gaza as “tragic,” warning that famine will worsen unless aid is urgently allowed in. McCain called for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access for humanitarian workers, emphasizing that food should never be politicized.

Responding to claims that Hamas is seizing aid to maintain its authority, McCain said WFP staff had observed no evidence to support those allegations.

“The situation inside the Gaza Strip has once again reached a breaking point: people are running out of ways to cope, and the fragile gains made during the short ceasefire have unravelled,” the agency said, stating that any progress made during the brief truce has now been erased. 

The World Food Programme warned that the current Israeli blockade—the longest Gaza has ever faced—has devastated already fragile food markets and supply systems. Food prices have surged by up to 1,400% compared to the previous ceasefire period, with essential goods growing increasingly scarce among vulnerable groups such as children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the elderly.

Without urgent action to reopen the border crossings for aid and trade, WFP warned it may be forced to suspend its operations entirely.

More than 116,000 tons of food aid—enough to sustain one million people for up to four months—are stranded in aid corridors, awaiting Israeli authorization to enter Gaza.

Antoine Renard, WFP’s Director for Palestine, noted that over 80% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, with more than 400,000 newly displaced since March 18 alone. He said that even fully stocked kitchens could only meet 25% of the daily food needs for half of Gaza’s population.

All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza were forced to close by the end of March after running out of wheat flour and cooking fuel. Food parcels intended to last families two weeks have also been depleted.

Meanwhile, severe malnutrition is rapidly worsening. A recent UN screening in northern Gaza found over 80 cases of severe malnutrition among 1,300 children—double the figure recorded in previous weeks.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported critical shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and fuel, severely impairing hospital operations and water production.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as a “difficult and bleak moment,” urging the immediate lifting of the aid blockade to save lives.

Gavin Kelleher, Humanitarian Access Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned that once food kitchens run out of supplies, they will have nothing left to offer, noting that desperation has driven families to barter possessions such as diaper bags for lentils or oil, or to sell their remaining belongings to access food.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s blockade as “unbearable” and demanded it be lifted immediately. Israel rejected the criticism, claiming Hamas was seizing aid—a charge Hamas has denied. The UN has confirmed that it maintains a strict chain of custody for all humanitarian deliveries.

‘Actual Famine’

In a statement, Hamas warned of the “catastrophic consequences of the crime of the comprehensive closure imposed by the terrorist enemy government on the Gaza Strip.” The movement stressed that the World Food Programme’s announcement that its stocks have run out “confirms that the people of the Gaza Strip have entered a phase of actual famine.”

Hamas further called on the international community “to take urgent action to stop the crime of mass starvation and end the complete blockade of the Gaza Strip,” urging Arab and Islamic countries—both governments and peoples—“to overcome their silence and take action to break the unjust blockade.”

Israel cut off all aid to Gaza on March 2 and resumed its military assault after reneging on a ceasefire agreement that had lasted nearly two months, claiming it needed to increase pressure on Hamas to release captives.