World Food Programme cuts Gaza food aid as families face shipment restrictions
A funding shortfall has reduced monthly WFP assistance from 1.6 million people to 1.1 million. Separately, reported restrictions on shipments are adding pressure on families who depend on aid.
The World Food Programme said on Monday, 19 October, that a funding shortfall had forced it to cut monthly food assistance in Gaza from 1.6 million people to 1.1 million, according to Al Jazeera. About 500,000 people will lose support as aid-dependent families also face a reported suspension of shipments into the territory.
The reductions extend beyond the number of people reached. Al Jazeera reported that families still receiving WFP aid will get one food parcel instead of two, along with a smaller bag of wheat flour. Daily hot meals are being reduced from 250,000 to 150,000, and cash assistance is being cut for 75,000 families.
How the cuts affect families in Gaza
The Guardian reported that reductions to ration boxes, cash stipends and meals from community kitchens had already begun in October. Hot meals were being delivered every other day. WFP’s Palestine director, Shaun Hughes, told the Guardian that gains against hunger were ‘very fragile’ and described the situation as ‘still brutal’. The paper reported that WFP funding had fallen by more than half from 2025 levels.
Hughes said two-thirds of Gaza’s population faced crisis-level food insecurity, or phase three on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification scale, the Guardian reported. He put another 200,000 people at emergency level, phase four, where immediate aid is needed to prevent deaths from hunger. Young children and their mothers are particularly vulnerable, the report said.
Al Jazeera interviewed Manal Abu Rabie, a displaced mother of six living in a camp in Deir el-Balah, who said her family relies on food parcels containing staples such as lentils, rice, flour and cooking oil. She said rising prices had put basic items beyond her reach. Another displaced mother, Randa al-War, told Al Jazeera that her family depends on WFP assistance and receives no aid from other organisations.
Shipment restrictions add to food pressure
Al Jazeera reported that aid shipments into Gaza had been suspended for a sixth consecutive day. That interruption is separate from the funding shortfall behind WFP’s cuts. Gaza-based economist Rami al-Zayigh told the outlet that restricted crossings were limiting supplies and pushing prices higher. He said egg prices had risen by about 300% over the preceding week and, citing official reports from Gaza, estimated food stocks at about two weeks.
The Guardian reported that WFP needs more than £300m over the next six months to restore and maintain critical programmes in Palestine. Hughes said obtaining and shipping ingredients for ration boxes can take about three months, meaning new funding might not immediately restore the food assistance being cut.
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Sources and context
- Famine fears as aid cuts and shipment restrictions coincide in GazaAl Jazeera; by Maram Humaid
- Cuts force World Food Programme to end support for half a million Palestinians in GazaThe Guardian; by Emma Graham-Harrison and Seham Tantesh
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.