AN, GAZA: The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an emergency operation to provide food assistance to more than 800,000 people in Gaza and the West Bank, it was announced on Tuesday.

The WFP said it was bringing aid to those “facing dire circumstances, lacking access to food, water, and essential supplies.”

The organization called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate the entry of aid and humanitarian assistance into Gaza and appeals for the safe and unobstructed passage for its staff and essential commodities.

It said it “urgently” required access and funding to reach those in need, adding it needed a total of $17.3 million in the next four weeks to address what it called a “critical situation.”