U.N. Food Agency Cuts Food Aid to 500,000 Palestinians in Gaza
Severe funding shortages threaten to dismantle humanitarian relief for hundreds of thousands of displaced families facing emergency hunger across the enclave.
The United Nations World Food Programme announced it is ending monthly food assistance to about 500,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The agency stated that severe funding shortfalls forced the cut. The move lowers the total number of Gaza residents receiving monthly assistance from 1.6 million down to 1.1 million.
The agency is halving in-kind food rations for remaining beneficiaries. Families will receive one food parcel instead of two, along with smaller flour sacks. The agency also reduced daily hot meal distribution from 250,000 to 150,000 meals across the enclave.
Hot meal deliveries to families near the Israeli military perimeter, known as the yellow line, will drop to every other day. In addition, the agency reduced the value of cash assistance given to 75,000 families by 40 percent.
Around 1.4 million people in Gaza experience acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Approximately 200,000 residents face emergency hunger bordering on famine. Israeli authorities had previously disputed findings of famine in the enclave during peak conflict periods.
WFP Country Director for Palestine Shaun Hughes said the agency removed half a million people solely due to funding shortages. He said the cuts were not caused by access issues or declining local needs.
Hughes said displaced residents still lack permanent housing and face daily strikes despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States. He added that previously self-sufficient families cannot buy enough food, forcing the agency to prioritize the most vulnerable.
WFP Acting Executive Director Carl Skau said the international community must act as displaced residents enter a fourth winter without basic shelter. Gaza's Ministry of Social Development warned that ending aid to 500,000 people risks collapsing the relief network across the strip.
The agency reported receiving less than half of its required funding for Palestinian operations in 2026 compared to earlier years. In September, the organization also cut its beneficiary list in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from 400,000 people to 200,000.
The agency continues to supply bakeries that produce one-third of Gaza's bread. It also maintains nutrition aid for 300,000 mothers and children, alongside snacks for 200,000 students. After a mid-2025 famine declaration eased in December, local commercial markets remained depressed.
The World Food Programme warned that nutrition could deteriorate quickly this winter without immediate contributions from international donors. Aid organizations face a 450 million dollar shortfall, reported by The Guardian as over 300 million pounds, across the next six months.
