GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has suspended operations in the Gaza Strip, citing the absence of a ceasefire and the lack of security guarantees for humanitarian workers, as famine continues to spread among Gaza’s population of over 2.3 million.
The WFP has temporarily terminated the contract of 77 commercial truck drivers after incidents of theft, looting, and escalating lawlessness disrupted relief efforts. According to local reports, armed gangs have been targeting aid convoys and storage facilities, stealing truck parts, food supplies, fuel, and equipment essential to humanitarian operations.
Truck drivers told Palestine Online that the disruption began after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) resumed their genocidal assault on the Strip, reneging on a brief ceasefire that lasted from January 19 to March 2. During that period, the WFP had brought in newly equipped trucks, many of which have since been vandalized or stripped for parts.
In recent weeks, warehouses storing flour and nutritional supplements have been looted, and program-critical infrastructure—such as trucks and generators—have been damaged or stolen. The situation has deteriorated further due to repeated Israeli attacks on local police forces, leaving humanitarian convoys vulnerable to looters and criminal gangs operating with impunity.
On March 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of all crossings into Gaza, triggering an unprecedented collapse of essential services. After sustained international pressure, Israeli authorities permitted a limited number of aid trucks to enter Gaza, but only for the WFP. Other UN agencies remain largely sidelined.
Despite the restricted entry of food aid, humanitarian conditions on the ground have continued to deteriorate. Charitable kitchens remain shuttered, bakeries are inoperable, and skyrocketing food prices have made the few available goods inaccessible to most families. Aid workers report a sharp rise in hunger and malnutrition.
UN agencies have condemned the Israeli-controlled aid mechanism, warning that it exposes humanitarian workers and drivers to serious risk. In a joint statement, they called for the immediate and full reopening of all border crossings and demanded the entry of at least 1,000 aid trucks per day to meet basic food and medical needs.
The UN has also rejected Israeli plans to replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with the recently established “Gaza Foundation,” which was reportedly created with backing from Israeli and US officials. Humanitarian groups view this move as a politically motivated effort to undermine UN operations and divert aid distribution to an unproven and untrusted entity.
In a statement from its headquarters in Amman, Jordan, UNRWA said it currently holds enough supplies for over 200,000 people for one month—including food parcels, flour, hygiene kits, blankets, and medications—just a three-hour drive from Gaza. It emphasized that the only barrier preventing this life-saving aid from reaching Palestinians is the IOF-imposed blockade.
UNRWA urged the international community to intervene, stressing that the scale of humanitarian need in Gaza demands immediate action and sustained, unimpeded access to aid. “Lives are at stake, and time is running out,” the agency warned.
