WFP cuts aid to ‌500,000 Palestinians in Gaza amid funding shortages

By Al Jazeera Staff. Published On 19 Oct 202619 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Funding shortfalls had already affected operations in the occupied West Bank, where the number of individuals receiving assistance was halved in September, from 400, 000 to 200, 000.
• The UN agency remarked it would additionally reduce the number of hot meals provided, from 250, 000 to 150, 000 a day.
• More than 74, 245 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry.
• Consequently, the WFP remarked it would reduce ⁠the number of residents receiving monthly assistance in Gaza from 1.6 ‌million to 1.1 million.
• An estimated 1.4 million individuals, or 67 percent of Gaza's population, are experiencing acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse.

Meanwhile, the ⁠World Food Programme (WFP) has confirmed ⁠major cuts to its Gaza response due to a funding shortage, leaving regarding ‌500, 000 residents without critical backing as much of the ⁠population of the war-ravaged Palestinian territory struggles to secure enough to eat.

In an official note on Monday, the United Nations agency remarked it received less than half as much funding for its Palestine operation in 2026 as in previous years. It remarked it urgently needs a further $450 million to maintain critical operations in the occupied Palestinian territory over the next six months.

Consequently, the WFP remarked it would reduce ⁠the number of residents receiving monthly assistance in Gaza from 1.6 ‌million to 1.1 million. Rations will be cut from two food parcels per family to one, and bags of flour will be smaller.

For context, the UN agency remarked it would additionally reduce the number of hot meals provided, from 250, 000 to 150, 000 a day. Families living in hard-to-reach areas, including near the so-called "yellow line" demarcating Israeli military control, will receive a hot meal every other day instead of daily.

While access to food, water, shelter and other basic necessities has become a daily struggle, more than three years of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, have brought the collapse of education, healthcare and the economy.

UN estimates show more than 80 percent of individuals are unemployed and unable to afford fresh or protein-rich foods when they are available. Only one in five children consumes a sufficiently diverse diet while access to health services remains limited.

Meanwhile, an estimated 1.4 million individuals, or 67 percent of Gaza's population, are experiencing acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse. This figure is down from 1.6 million individuals, or 77 percent of the population, at the end of 2025, even so the WFP noted the improvement "remains modest and fragile."

In short, WFP cuts aid to ‌500, 000 Palestinians in Gaza amid funding shortages is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.