WFP Slashes Aid for 500,000 Gazans Amid Severe Funding Crisis

The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced significant reductions in its aid operations in Gaza due to a severe funding shortage. This decision will leave approximately 500,000 individuals without essential support, exacerbating the already dire food situation for a large portion of the Palestinian territory's population.

In a statement released on Monday, the United Nations agency indicated that its Palestine operation received less than half the funding in 2026 compared to previous years. The WFP urgently requires an additional $450 million to sustain critical operations in the occupied Palestinian territory over the next six months.

Consequently, the WFP will reduce the number of people receiving monthly assistance in Gaza from 1.6 million to 1.1 million. Food rations will be cut from two parcels per family to one, and the size of flour bags will be diminished. The agency also plans to decrease the number of hot meals provided daily from 250,000 to 150,000.

Families residing in areas with limited access, including those near the demarcation line known as the “yellow line” that signifies Israeli military control, will receive a hot meal every other day instead of daily. The ongoing conflict, now in its fourth year since Israel's war following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has led to the collapse of education, healthcare, and the economy. Access to food, water, shelter, and other basic necessities has become a daily challenge for the population.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, over 74,245 Palestinians have been killed. UN estimates indicate that more than 80 percent of the population is unemployed and unable to afford fresh or protein-rich foods when available. Only one in five children has a sufficiently diverse diet, and access to health services remains restricted.

An estimated 1.4 million people, representing 67 percent of Gaza’s population, are experiencing acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse. While this figure is a slight decrease from 1.6 million people (77 percent of the population) at the end of 2025, the WFP cautions that the improvement is “modest and fragile.” Funding shortfalls have previously impacted operations in the occupied West Bank, where the number of individuals receiving assistance was halved in September, dropping from 400,000 to 200,000.