Food security

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

Battle for Khartoum at tipping point as Sudan military advances

After years of fighting between Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, the two groups’ battle for the capital city of Khartoum could be coming to a head.

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

Latest News

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

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

WFP to send aid ship to feed displaced in Lebanon

YOAV LEMMER/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

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

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

Cindy McCain

Cindy McCain

World Food Programme Executive Director

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

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.

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.

Dairy cows recline in a barn at the Havelland Ribbeck farm on March 22, 2024 near Nauen, Germany.

Algeria signs $3.5B deal with Qatari firm to develop world's largest dairy farm

A Qatari food giant announced a $3.5 billion agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop the world’s largest integrated dairy farming and production project in the south of the African country.

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 says Israel boosted Gaza aid flow after convoy strike, but more is needed

US envoy David Satterfield said the volume of assistance reaching Gaza is "significantly greater" than it was, but issues remain with aid distribution.

VICTORIA VALDIVIA/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Starbucks pledges $3M to World Central Kitchen for Gaza meals

The coffee giant has announced a large donation to the aid group World Central Kitchen, which lost seven of its staff members earlier this month in an Israeli airstrike.

Relatives and friends mourn the death of Saif Abu Taha, a staff member of the US-based aid group World Central Kitchen.

Israel's Gaza aid convoy strike reflects 'absolute breakdown' of process

Aid agencies who spent months urging Israel to improve its “deconfliction” system say the deadly strike that killed seven of World Central Kitchen’s staff was foreseeable.

People gather around the carcass of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen.

Humanitarian groups suspend Gaza operations after Israeli strike kills 7 aid workers

World Central Kitchen, a US-based charitable organization, said seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza. Israel said the incident is under investigation.

Palestinians check the rubble of buildings that were destroyed following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

White House: No Rafah invasion until Israeli delegation talks alternatives

"We don’t support a major ground operation," White House NSC coordinator John Kirby emphasized on Thursday, as an Israeli delegation is expected to discuss alternatives with top officials in Washington next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on Oct. 24, 2023.

Macron warns Netanyahu forced population transfer in Gaza would be war crime

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Paris is against a military operation in Rafah and against any attempt to transfer displaced Gazans.