The UN World Food Programme has announced sweeping cuts to its Gaza food aid operation, warning that funding shortages will leave about 500,000 Palestinians without monthly food support in a territory where two-thirds of the population struggle to get enough to eat.
The agency said on Monday, October 19, that it is reducing the number of monthly assistance recipients from 1.6 million to 1.1 million. Food rations have been halved, cash assistance has been cut for 75,000 families, and daily hot meals for those unable to cook will fall from 250,000 to 150,000. Families in hard-to-reach areas, particularly near the so-called yellow line marking Israeli military control, will now receive hot meals only every other day.
The WFP said about 1.4 million people — two-thirds of Gaza’s population — face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, including roughly 200,000 in emergency conditions. It urgently needs $450 million over the next six months to maintain operations in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“Life Is Still Brutal Here”
“It’s a year into the agreement of this ceasefire. Well, life is still brutal here. There is no proper shelter… There is no basic services. There is no safety, no security,” acting WFP Executive Director Carl Skau told Reuters in Gaza.
“These cuts are happening just as we are facing the fourth winter. You know, I’ve been through the winters here, absolutely brutal,” he added.
Funding for the agency’s Palestine operations in 2026 has fallen to less than half of previous years’ levels, the WFP said, warning that the financial crisis could undo the limited progress made in addressing hunger across the devastated territory.
Stalled Ceasefire, Mounting Pressure
The cuts land a year after a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire was agreed, but little progress has been made toward implementing a deal that includes Hamas disarming and Israeli troops withdrawing. Violence continues: the Israeli military killed at least five people in multiple incidents across Gaza on Monday, including two children killed in a drone strike in the Khan Younis area.
In a modest bright spot, Israel announced it is once again allowing commercial shipments into Gaza, roughly a week after suspending them amid what it described as a tax dispute between Palestinian merchants and the territorial government. Hamas officials dropped their 10,000 shekel (about $3,225) per-truck payment requirement, which should help bring additional supplies into the territory.
