World Food Programme chief warns 500,000 Gazans on brink of famine, urges scaled-up aid
Cindy McCain criticizes Israeli authorities for allowing only limited aid entry, saying 'This is a drop in the bucket as to what's needed'

ISTANBUL
UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain warned on Sunday that half a million people in Gaza are "extremely food insecure" and at risk of famine, urging the international community to step up efforts to deliver humanitarian aid on a large scale.
McCain, speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, described the situation as a "catastrophe," criticizing Israeli authorities for allowing only limited aid entry between March and mid-May. “They have let a few trucks in. This is a drop in the bucket as to what's needed,” she said.
McCain said the WFP was able to bring in around 600 trucks per day during the last ceasefire, but deliveries have now dropped to about 100, which is "not nearly enough."
She emphasized the urgent need to scale up, saying: "We need to get in and get in at scale and be allowed to feed these people before further catastrophe occurs."
McCain urged diplomatic pressure on Israel to continue aid. “We can’t be allowed to sit back and watch these people starve to death with no outside diplomatic influence to help us,” she said. “These poor souls are really, really, really desperate.”
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against defenseless civilians in the enclave.
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