Food security

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Turkey closes livestock markets amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreak: What to know

The Agriculture Ministry has closed all livestock markets to prevent spread of the disease while vaccination efforts are underway.

Palestinians wait in a queue to receive food outside a distribution center south of Khan Younis, on Dec. 6, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Over 170 global NGOs call for end of US-backed GHF operations in Gaza

More than 170 major nongovernmental organizations called for the immediate end to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, amid the rising death toll near its distribution centers in Gaza.

A hungry young boy eats raw noodles as dislocated Palestinians carry the humanitarian aid they have received from a United Nations distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip on May 27, 2025, following a chaotic incident in which Gazans stormed the aid center, leading to the withdrawal of the American company overseeing the operation after losing control of the situation. The scene underscores the desperation and urgency surrounding the humanitarian crisis as

Why a US-backed Gaza plan is sparking accusations of weaponizing aid

Humanitarian experts say an obscure paramilitary contractor led by a former CIA official may be aiding Israel’s military in using food as a weapon of war in Gaza.

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US-backed Gaza aid body launches as Witkoff pans Hamas truce proposal: What to know

Hamas said it accepted a US proposal on a ceasefire deal in Gaza, which both Israel and the US denied, as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is quickly deteriorating.

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US-backed aid group begins controversial relief operation in Gaza

A truck carrying humanitarian aid drives through the Kerem Shalom crossing between southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, on May 22, 2025

29 in Gaza die from starvation says PA; UNICEF warns 9,000 children malnourished

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Analysis

Amid US rift and Saudi rivalry, UAE offers Zelenskyy economic lifeline

Voladymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, on Feb. 17, 2025.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Battle for Khartoum at tipping point as Sudan military advances

Sudanese army soldiers patrol an area in Khartoum North, on Nov. 3, 2024.

Iraqi men unload humanitarian aid supplies provided by USAID to displaced Iraqis who have fled clashes between Islamic State group jihadists and Peshmerga fighters on Oct. 2, 2014, in the town of Daquq.

‘People are anxious’: USAID staff rattled by Trump's foreign aid freeze

Humanitarian organizations were bracing for foreign aid cuts but were taken aback when President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order pausing assistance for the next 90 days.

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain delivers a speech at the first meeting of the Global School Meals Coalition, in Paris, on Oct. 18, 2023.

Interview

WFP chief McCain urges funding to alleviate Syria's hunger crisis

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned of donor fatigue after nearly 14 years of civil war in Syria.

Cindy McCain

Cindy McCain

WFP Executive Director

Children reach out with bowls, hoping to receive food during a distribution in Gaza City, with the population facing increasing hunger due to closed crossings. Oct. 21, 2024.

Analysis

From war to governance: Hamas challenged by security vacuum in Gaza

The Hamas government struggles to maintain its authority over Gaza amid death, destruction, severe food shortages and decimated administrative and security forces.

Abeer Ayyoub

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Waddani Party presidential candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Irro, (C) casts his vote at a polling station.

Opposition wins election in Somaliland, signals dialogue with Somalia: What we know

Somaliland's opposition leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has won the presidential election, unseating the incumbent president who held office for seven years.

YOAV LEMMER/AFP via Getty Images

WFP to send aid ship to feed displaced in Lebanon

The UN food agency is raising the alarm over food insecurity and a harsh winter in the Levant as the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon continue.

Cindy McCain executive director of the UN World Food Program, is pictured at the UN Security Council in this undated image, in New York.

Interview

WFP’s McCain: 'No difference' in Gaza aid flow despite Israel’s tactical pause

Al-Monitor interviews World Food Program chief Cindy McCain about the hunger crisis gripping the Gaza Strip after more than eight months of war.

Cindy McCain

Cindy McCain

World Food Programme Executive Director

This picture taken from Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip shows parachutes of humanitarian aid dropping over the besieged Palestinian territory on March 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Pentagon pauses humanitarian airdrops in Gaza, citing Israel's Rafah operation

The Biden administration's plan to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza is falling apart.

Displaced Syrians walk through a makeshift camp for Syrian refugees only miles from the border with Syria in the Bekaa Valley on Nov. 12, 2013, in Majdal Anjar, Lebanon.

Poverty in Lebanon tripled to 44%, as high as 62% in rural areas: World Bank

In a recent report, the World Bank revealed a three-fold increase in poverty rates in Lebanon, which is hard hit by an economic crisis and financial meltdown, with nine out of every 10 Syrians displaced in the country living under the poverty line.

A general view shows coffee beans as an Egyptian man makes coffee for German tourists at traditional cafe on the banks of the Nile River in Aswan, some 900 kilometers south of Cairo on March 13, 2016.

How climate change could make Egypt's coffee cultivation a reality

One Egyptian experiment has successfully cultivated coffee beans, but analysts believe environmental factors are still unfavorable for localizing this crop.

Pier-building begins construction of the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean. The pier will support USAID and humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. US Transportation Command and US European Command support the movement of humanitarian aid.

US installs Gaza floating pier despite aid groups' security fears

A senior USAID official said the United States is “not at all satisfied” with the progress of discussions with the IDF over steps to prevent Israeli soldiers from killing aid workers in Gaza.

Humanitarian aid is dropped on the Gaza Strip, west of Gaza City, on March 25, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas, with the background showing Israel's Rutenberg power station near Ashkelon.

US military halts Gaza humanitarian aid pier, citing weather

A US defense official told Al-Monitor the pier remains on schedule, but an agreement to have workers with the UN World Food Programme distribute aid from the pier remains under intensive negotiation amid significant security concerns.

Youths gather atop an elevated area in al-Zahra in the central Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Dangers for Palestinian aid workers stall deal on US-built Gaza pier

Israel’s role in providing security for the maritime endeavor has raised questions over the safety and neutrality of the Palestinian aid workers involved.