World Food Programme cuts Gaza food aid for 500,000 people over funding shortage

The World Food Programme has cut monthly food and cash assistance to 500,000 Palestinians in Gaza, warning that a severe funding shortfall has forced it to scale back operations as winter approaches.

The reduction brings the total number of people receiving WFP aid down from 1.6 million to 1.1 million — roughly half of Gaza's 2.1 million population.

Daily hot meals provided through community kitchens are being reduced from 250,000 to 150,000, while the number of people given monthly flour bags and ration boxes will drop from 1.1 million to 600,000. Families in hard-to-reach areas, including those near the Yellow Line marking Israeli military control, will now receive meals every two days rather than daily.

Gaza food aid cuts at a glance

Why the WFP is cutting rations

WFP Palestine director Shaun Hughes said the decision was driven entirely by financial constraints rather than improved conditions on the ground or access problems.

The agency received less than half the funding for its Palestinian operations in 2026 compared with previous years. It needs $450 million urgently over the next six months to maintain core distributions.

"Cuts to food assistance are going to compound that hardship that families have been facing for three years now," Hughes said, noting that humanitarian conditions remain severe.

Living conditions across Gaza

Nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million residents remain displaced, and two-thirds rely on humanitarian aid to survive. Although local markets are stocked better than last year, over 80 per cent of the population is unemployed, leaving most families unable to purchase commercial supplies.

Displaced residents in tent camps described the cuts as disastrous. With cooking gas restricted by Israeli authorities as a dual-use item, families frequently burn plastic and cardboard for fuel to cook what little aid they receive.

The agency said it will continue supporting bakeries supplying one-third of Gaza's bread, alongside nutrition schemes for 300,000 women and children and school snacks for 200,000 pupils. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, the WFP is maintaining assistance to 200,000 people, having already halved recipient numbers in September due to rising displacement and settler violence.