Families in Gaza are bracing for worsening hunger after the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced a one-third reduction in food assistance because of funding shortages. The agency says around 500,000 people will lose access to its monthly support as winter approaches.
WFP is reducing the number of people receiving assistance from 1.6 million to 1.1 million. For families who remain on the programme, food rations have been cut in half: recipients will receive one food parcel instead of two, alongside a smaller amount of wheat flour.
The agency has also reduced the number of hot meals it provides each day from 250,000 to 150,000. People in hard-to-reach areas may receive a meal every other day rather than daily. Cash assistance for 75,000 families has also been reduced.
WFP says about 1.4 million people, or 67 percent of Gaza’s population, face crisis-level food insecurity or worse. It has requested $450 million to sustain operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank through March 2027. The cuts reflect the agency’s funding gap, not a reduction in humanitarian need, which remains severe as colder and wetter weather sets in.
