WFP Cuts Gaza Food Assistance by One-Third Due to Funding Shortages

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Monday that funding shortages have forced it to reduce food assistance in the Gaza Strip by approximately one third, affecting an estimated 500,000 people as winter approaches.

According to the UN agency, the reduction lowers the number of people supported in the enclave from 1.6 million in September to 1.1 million this month. The agency stated that its assistance had previously served up to 90 percent of families in Gaza over the past three years, distributing food parcels, wheat flour, bread, hot meals, nutrition support, school snacks, and cash assistance following the October 2025 ceasefire agreement.

Under the new measures, food rations have been halved, leaving families with one food parcel instead of two, alongside smaller bags of wheat flour. Cash assistance values have been reduced for 75,000 families, and the daily distribution of hot meals has dropped from 250,000 to 150,000. In hard-to-reach areas, including locations near the Israeli military control line, hot meals will now be provided every other day rather than daily.

WFP reported that it will continue providing nutrition assistance to 300,000 women and children, school snacks to 200,000 students, and support to bakeries covering one-third of Gaza's bread needs.

The agency highlighted that over 80 percent of Gaza's population is unemployed, leaving many unable to purchase fresh produce or protein-rich foods. Approximately 67 percent of the population—around 1.4 million people—faces acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse, including 200,000 people living in emergency conditions who require immediate aid.

WFP stated that its 2026 funding for operations in Palestine is currently less than half of the amounts received in previous years. The agency reported an urgent requirement of $450 million to maintain operations across Gaza and the West Bank through March. Funding constraints previously led to a 50 percent cut in West Bank assistance in September, reducing the beneficiary count there from 400,000 to 200,000.

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