WASHINGTON

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador "The Weeknd" will send $2.5 million to the Gaza Strip, which is grappling with food shortages due to the ongoing conflict.

The artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, will direct the donation, which equates to four million emergency meals, via his XO Humanitarian Fund, the WFP USA said in a statement.

"This conflict has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe beyond reckoning. WFP is working round the clock to provide aid in Gaza but a major scale up is needed to address the desperate level of hunger we are seeing," said WFP’s Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe Region, Corinne Fleischer in the statement.

Fleischer also thanked Abel for this "valuable" contribution towards the people of Palestine," saying: "We hope others will follow Abel’s example and support our efforts."

Abel was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador in October 2021.

He has also donated $1.8 million of his own money to the WFP to support global hunger-relief mission.