Gazan children call on WFP not to suspend aid to needy Palestinian families

By Xinhua Published: Jun 07, 2023 12:31 PM

Palestinian children take part in a demonstration in Gaza City, on June 6, 2023. Palestinian children demonstrated on Tuesday in Gaza City to demand the UN World Food Programme (WFP) cancel its decision about stopping its humanitarian aid to poor families in the coastal enclave.(Photo: Xinhua)

Palestinian children demonstrated on Tuesday in Gaza City to demand the UN World Food Programme (WFP) cancel its decision about stopping its humanitarian aid to poor families in the coastal enclave.

During the demonstration in front of the UN Development Programme headquarters in Gaza, the children raised Palestinian flags and banners written with "We do not want to starve," "We need to enjoy our right of living in stability and security in our country," and "Stopping the humanitarian aid means that a lot of poor family will lose their final chance to live decently."

The demonstration was organized by dozens of families, who received text messages sent by the WFP informing them that their finances and food have been stopped because of financial hardship experienced by the UN organization.

"It is unfair to suspend the food and financial aids on the Palestinian families, who are suffering from poverty," Mena Mahmoud, an eleven-year-old girl, told Xinhua.

"If the WFP stops its aid, we will suffer from the hunger that would increase the crimes among the local community," said Rahaf Tafish, another nine-year-old girl.

Demanding food, water and safety, Mahmoud and Tafish called on the international community to help the Palestinian people in Gaza and support them to live a decent life.

Subhi al-Moghrabi, the media spokesman of the poor families, told Xinhua that the demonstration is organized to express their refusal to the "unprecedented" decision issued by the WFP.

"We are suffering from extremely poverty and do not have any other income sources, as most of us are patients who cannot work to make some money to keep our families afloat," the man complained, noting a lot of children, women and elderly people depend on the aid to live.

In May, the WFP announced that it is going to suspend its financial aid to more than 200,000 needy families in the Palestinian territories because of an acute funding deficit.

"Almost 60 percent of Palestinians it was providing food vouchers for will stop receiving them by June, while we may completely stop our operations by August if we do not receive any international funding," the UN organization said in a press statement.