World Food Programme Cuts Aid to Gaza Amid Funding Shortages

The World Food Programme (WFP) is drastically reducing its lifesaving assistance in the Gaza Strip due to funding shortages, a move that will affect approximately one-third of the 1.6 million people currently receiving aid.

The cuts come as winter approaches and a large portion of Gaza's population remains displaced and reliant on food aid. The number of people receiving assistance will fall to 1.1 million.

One significant impact will be the reduction in hot meals provided by community kitchens, decreasing from 250,000 to 150,000 daily. Families in areas near the border with Israel, described as hard-to-reach, will now receive meals every other day instead of daily. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million residents are displaced, and two-thirds depend on food aid to survive.

Mothers in displacement camps expressed dismay at the planned reductions. Mervat al-Satari, a mother of five, described the cuts as a "disaster," questioning how families would cope with fewer rations. Sawsan Bahloul, another mother, noted that the already small portions from community kitchens would now be provided less frequently, significantly impacting her family.

Shaun Hughes, the Palestine director for the WFP, clarified that the cuts are driven by financial constraints rather than access issues. "The needs are not coming down, or because we don't have access - we do," Hughes stated.

Previously, reductions in cash transfers since July have already limited the purchasing power of around half a million people. The number of Gazans receiving WFP flour bags and ration boxes monthly will now decrease from 1.1 million to 600,000.

The WFP has received less than half the funding for its Palestinian operations compared to previous years and urgently requires $450 million to sustain critical operations over the next six months.

Despite a ceasefire agreed upon a year ago, humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain severe. Reconstruction and recovery have been minimal, with Israel controlling the entry of goods. While local markets have improved, high unemployment means most of the population cannot afford to purchase food.

Families currently receiving aid reported that existing handouts were already insufficient. Dalal al-Dahdouh, from Gaza City, fears the new cuts will have a "major impact" on her family of eight. She recalled a past life with access to fresh vegetables and proper sanitation, contrasting it with the current reliance on aid.

Fuel scarcity is another challenge, with cooking gas restricted by Israel. Many families resort to burning plastic and cardboard for cooking and heating food.

Hughes warned that the cuts to food assistance would exacerbate the hardships faced by families who have endured difficult conditions for three years, including inadequate housing, water, sanitation, and healthcare.

While the WFP continues to support bakeries that supply one-third of Gaza's bread and provides nutritional assistance to women and children, the overall situation remains precarious. The agency also assists some 200,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, though aid there was also halved in September due to rising food insecurity linked to increased settler violence and displacement.

In July, experts predicted that 1.4 million people in Gaza would face crisis levels of acute food insecurity between July and December 2026.