GENEVA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday warned that the Middle East conflict could push global hunger levels to an all-time high.

"If the Middle East conflict continues through June, an additional 45 million people could be pushed into acute hunger by price rises," WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said at a press conference in Geneva.

According to Skau, the conflict has caused major knock-on effects on global humanitarian operations, with the WFP's supply chains facing the most severe disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.

As the escalating violence in the Middle East continues into its third week, relief operations are suffering from longer shipping times and higher costs, said Skau.

WFP, which operates thousands of trucks on the roads daily, is facing an 18 percent increase in shipping costs due to surging oil prices, he said.

The agency has been forced to cut rations for famine-threatened communities in Sudan, and can now only support one in four acutely malnourished children in Afghanistan, the epicenter of the world's worst malnutrition crisis, said Skau.

Skau also expressed concern over the disruption of global fertilizer markets due to "a virtual standstill" of the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for a quarter of the world's fertilizer supply.

Skau stressed that surging global food and fuel costs "could leave millions of families priced out of staple foods," warning that import-dependent countries would be hit hardest. ■