The United Nations World Food Programme said on Monday, October 19, that funding shortages are forcing it to remove about 500,000 people from monthly assistance in Gaza. Its October caseload is falling from 1.6 million to 1.1 million people, according to the agency and Reuters, as winter approaches.
The reduction comes despite widespread hunger. WFP estimates that 1.4 million people, or 67 percent of Gaza’s population, face crisis-level food insecurity or worse. About 200,000 remain in emergency conditions requiring immediate food assistance to prevent deaths from hunger, the agency said.
Families retaining food support will receive one parcel instead of two and a smaller bag of wheat flour, WFP said. Daily hot meals are dropping from 250,000 to 150,000. In hard-to-reach areas, some families will receive a hot meal every other day rather than daily, according to its announcement.
The agency is also reducing the value of cash assistance for 75,000 families. It says unemployment exceeds 80 percent in Gaza, leaving many households unable to buy fresh produce or protein-rich foods even when available. Only one in five children eats a sufficiently varied diet, according to WFP.
Some programmes continue for now: WFP says it is supporting bakeries supplying one-third of Gaza’s bread needs, nutrition assistance for 300,000 women and children, and school snacks for 200,000 children. In the West Bank, funding shortages already cut its reach from 400,000 to 200,000 people in September.
WFP said its Palestine operation received less than half as much funding in 2026 as in previous years. It urgently seeks $450 million to sustain essential work in Gaza and the West Bank from October through March 2027, warning that further cuts could reverse fragile food-security gains since the October 2025 ceasefire.
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