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Shtayyeh: Palestine Received No Financial Aid From US, Arab Countries

A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)
A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)
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Shtayyeh: Palestine Received No Financial Aid From US, Arab Countries

A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)
A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Wednesday that Palestine hasn't received any financial aid from any Arab country or from the US for more than one year.

"Due to lack of Arab funds, the deficiency in the Palestinian budget climbed to one billion US dollars," Shtayyeh told a conference held in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the coronavirus crisis challenges in the country.

"Arab countries haven't sent any financial aid during 2020 until now. In addition, the US has suspended its financial support, which amounted to $500 million per year," he said.

During the conference, the PM said the Palestinian government is ready for austerity and reducing its running cost.

Shtayyeh affirmed that the pandemic has worsened the economic condition, and has negatively affected the psychological, social, health, financial aspects of people's lives. This concurs with annexation schemes, Gaza blockade, Judaization of Jerusalem, settlements, and other political issues.

World Bank Country Director for West Bank and Gaza Kanthan Shankar said that the World Bank has been keen on providing financial aid to the Palestinians since the outbreak of the pandemic.

An amount of $100 million was granted to the Palestinians to reinforce the health system. Further, financial aid was given to the poor families who were influenced by the pandemic, Shankar said.

He underscored the significance of protecting the logistic services and ensuring medical requirements.

Shankar stressed the necessity of taking health precautions, and creating job opportunities in the health sector, and recruiting a sufficient number of employees in this field.

The European Union's representative, Sven Kuehn, said that the EU supported the Palestinian government since the beginning of the pandemic. It granted EUR71 million in addition to EUR5 million to support poor families in the West Bank.

Kuehn added that the EU supported the UNRWAfinacially to fulfill the needs of Palestine’s refugees through its health and relief programs.

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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.