The following is the transcript of an interview with Cindy McCain, World Food Programme executive director, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Aug. 31, 2025.
ED O’KEEFE: We go now to the executive director of the World Food Programme, Ambassador Cindy McCain, who joins us this morning from Rome. Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us, and you’re with us in part because you’re just back from a trip into Gaza. So few outsiders are getting in these days to assess the situation. What did you see?
U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CINDY MCCAIN: Well, first of all, thank you for covering this. I did go into Gaza. I entered through the Kissufim gate. Went to Deir al Balah, then on to Khan Yunis and out through the Kerem Shalom- Kerem Shalom gate. I saw a lot of devastation. I saw a lot of hunger. I saw people waiting in long lines for water. You know- what you would expect to see in a situation like that. And there’s- there’s clear desperation on the- on- in the hearts and minds of the people there, because there just is not enough food. I met with a family that- of 11 people that had come from the north. They’d got- walked all the way down. And what I saw, they had pictures that they brought with their- with their belongings, and I saw the kind of the before and after pictures. And there- I didn’t even recognize these people. They have the weight loss, the malnutrition, the stress and everything that- the toll that it’s taken on their family. It’s- it’s truly, truly a devastating situation, and something that we need to demand a cease fire about right now and make sure that we can get in there and feed.
ED O’KEEFE: And yet, Israel has declared Gaza City a combat zone and is ending humanitarian pauses and ramping up air strikes around the city. Gaza, of course, is one of the areas where a global monitor has confirmed famine. You talk about the hunger you saw in and around that region. What will a more aggressive military offensive in that area mean for Gaza City?
MCCAIN: Well, it’s going to limit the amount of food that they have access to. Of course, the danger alone is a whole other part of that, as you know, and it does not make it easy for humanitarian aid workers to get in there as well to make sure that we can do our job. The one thing that I’ve been saying all along about situations like Gaza City and others is that humanitarian aid workers are not targets. They’re not targets, and this has to end. So I’m hoping that perhaps it won’t be as bad as we think it’s going to be. But I have a feeling- I have a feeling we’re going to see some- some more serious devastation.
ED O’KEEFE: In fact, you bring up the issue of safety for humanitarian workers. Last year, among the deadliest on record, nearly 400 killed in the line of duty. There was a World Food Program convoy that came under fire in Gaza last month. I mean, absent a ceasefire, what more needs to be done by warring parties to protect humanitarians as they try to carry out this work?
MCCAIN: Well, these people are desperate. You know the- in terms of the ones that are on the ground, rushing the trucks, etc. What we need is full, unfettered access at scale, to be able to get in and feed, and feed in a way where the panic subsides. And secondly, of course, we don’t do anything that involves guns or military in any way, shape, or form. And that’s on purpose. That’s who we are. That’s our mandate. And so, obviously, a ceasefire, as I said before, being able to get in at scale, unfettered and in a safe manner, and continuously get in, and get into the furthest sites where we can’t get food into- into the most vulnerable people that are- that are at risk right now.
ED O’KEEFE: As part of your trip to the region, you also met with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. You described it as a productive meeting, and said you discussed what you need in order to be able to get access. But, you’ve also said it was clear there isn’t enough food getting into Gaza. And I want to read you something that the Prime Minister’s Office posted on social media. They said, in part, it’s regrettable that Mrs. McCain has since issued statements contradicting what she told us in Jerusalem. That is a misrepresentation. Israel is enabling a steady flow of aid in sufficient quantities. What’s your response to the Prime Minister?
MCCAIN: Well, I stand by what I said. There’s not enough food getting in. And without a full ceasefire and the ability to get in, as I said, at scale, unfettered, making sure that we’re safe, doing it as well. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to feed people. We have, in recent weeks, been able to get a little more food in. So that’s an accurate statement. But it’s not enough. It simply isn’t enough to be able to do the job and stop malnutrition, starvation, and all the things that have occurred as a result of it. Let me- let me add one thing to that, malnutrition and starvation and famine of any kind, it’s not just about food. It’s about water. It’s about medicine. It’s about the ability to treat the entire body of a person who is undernourished or malnourished in that way. So it involves more than just the food trucks, although that’s very important, but it also involves things- special feeding for children, as well as medicine and water that need to all get in.
ED O’KEEFE: So let me shift you to another part of the world, because it is the World Food Program, after all, and Sudan is the other part of the world that is in the midst of famine. Earlier this month, one of your convoys was attacked while delivering it in that country as well. What challenges are you facing there, trying to get food to the people who need it in Sudan?
MCCAIN: Well, the incident that you just described, of course, the attacking the convoys. We’re, right now we’re in what we call the lean season, and so there’s a lot of rain happening. It makes it even more difficult to get heavy trucks across to where the food needs to go. And of course, the conflict, El Fasher is the- is where the famine exists right now, within- within the Darfur region, but there’s famine in other parts of Sudan as well. Again, it’s- it’s the safe access that we need to have and- and like other places, full- full unfettered access as well, and in a safe manner for our people delivering the food.
ED O’KEEFE: Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Ambassador Cindy McCain, thank you so much for bringing that important perspective to us this morning. We’ll see you soon.
MCCAIN: Thank you.
ED O’KEEFE: And we’ll be right back.