AdvertisementAdvertisementExecutive director of the World Food Programme Cindy McCain speaks with the Associated Press in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Jan. 14, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)29 Aug 2025 04:09AM (Updated: 29 Aug 2025 04:21AM) Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInRead a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST GENEVA: More food aid is reaching Gaza but it remains far from enough to prevent widespread starvation, the head of the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday (Aug 28).“We're getting a little bit more food in. We're moving in the right direction ... but it's not nearly enough to do what we need to do to make sure that people are not malnourished and not starving,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain told Reuters in an interview via video link from Jerusalem.McCain said the WFP is now able to deliver about 100 aid trucks a day into Gaza, compared with 600 trucks daily during a two-month ceasefire that ended in mid-March.COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows, said in a joint statement with the army that more than 300 humanitarian trucks were entering Gaza daily, most carrying food.NETANYAHU MEETINGMcCain met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, where their offices said they agreed to redouble efforts to expedite and sustain the entry of humanitarian goods.A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system released last week said that about 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population, were facing famine conditions in Gaza City and surrounding areas, with the number expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.Israel has rejected the IPC findings as biased and “deeply flawed”, arguing they rely on partial data from Hamas and do not account for recent food deliveries.Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen after the global hunger monitor, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), said that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread, in Gaza City, August 28, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)‘UTTER DEVASTATION’During a visit to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis this week, McCain said she saw “utter devastation” and people who were “very seriously hungry and malnourished”.“It proved my point that we need to be able to get deep into Gaza so we can make sure that they consistently have what they need,” she said.She pressed Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir for unfettered access, more safe routes and guarantees that aid trucks would not face long delays. A military statement said Zamir emphasised Israel’s commitment to preventing famine and enabling humanitarian aid to reach Gazans.McCain said some commercial food imports had helped lower prices, but most Gazans still could not afford enough to eat.Israel army launches operation in West Bank's NablusInitial inquiry says Hamas camera was target of Israeli strike that killed 5 journalistsAustralia dismisses Israel's claims on Iran envoy expulsionHUMAN IMPACTAt a soup kitchen in Gaza City, 52-year-old Sami al-Ashram said he had barely enough food. “I ask the people in charge of aid to increase the aid so that we can eat and live. Some rice is not enough for us,” he said.The Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday that 10 more people had died of malnutrition and starvation, raising the toll since October 2023 to 313, including 119 children. Israel disputes the ministry’s figures.The IPC has warned that famine could spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September. McCain called its report the “gold standard” for measuring food insecurity.Source: Reuters/fsSign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST