World Food Programme Says Gaza Food Supplies Still Far Below Target

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday that food supplies entering Gaza remain well below target despite an increase following the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The agency noted that deliveries are still far short of its daily goal of 2,000 metric tons, as only two crossings are currently open—and none in the famine-hit northern region.

According to WFP, roughly 750 metric tons of food are now entering Gaza each day, a figure that remains inadequate given the vast humanitarian needs after two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has devastated most of the enclave.

“To reach the level required, every available border crossing must be used,” WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told reporters at a press briefing in Geneva.

Limited Crossings Open
Etefa said that only two Israeli-controlled crossings—Kerem Shalom in the south and Kisufim in central Gaza—are currently operating. The U.S.-mediated ceasefire plan aims to allow “full humanitarian aid” into Gaza. An Israeli security official confirmed that aid was entering through Kerem Shalom and another crossing but did not specify which.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed until further notice. Its reopening, he added, depends on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages.

UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires also said on Tuesday that humanitarian aid remains far below essential levels and called for the reopening of all entry points.

Etefa noted that limited nutritional supplies for children and pregnant women have reached northern Gaza through southern routes but remain far short of what is needed.

No Access to Main Gaza Roads
“Our large convoys have not been able to reach Gaza City or the north,” she said, adding that WFP has not been granted permission to use the main north–south Salah al-Din road.

So far, the food supplies delivered are enough to feed around half a million people for two weeks, Etefa said.

Many residents, fearing another collapse in aid deliveries, are rationing what little food they receive. “People eat some of what they get and store the rest for emergencies,” she said, “because no one knows how long the ceasefire will last—or what might come next.”