GENEVA, Jan 11 (KUNA) — The World Food Program said Friday that the number of Palestinians in need of urgent food aid has increased by 22,000 as of mid-December.
According to the WFP spokesperson in Geneva Christiane Berthiaume the WFP study shows that the number of Palestinians suffering from food insecurity has stepped up as a result to 302,000.
Berthiaume told reporters that in total, the WFP and the United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) provide food assistance in Gaza to 1.1 million people out of the total Gaza population of 1.5 million.
She added that some 70 percent of families live on less that USD 250 per month and that 62 percent of the household expenditure goes to food purchase.
Berthiaume said that the initial WFP budget for food assistance to Gaza this year was USD 107 million, revised twice to reach USD 141 million.
This study was conducted by the WFP in relation to the effects of the Israeli closure of the Karni crossing since June 2007.