In brief
The World Food Programme announced it must cut aid to Gaza, dropping the number of people served from 1.6 million to 1.1 million. Daily hot meals supplied by community kitchens will fall from 250,000 to 150,000, and flour rations will halve from 1.1 million to 600,000 families each month. Families, including mothers in displaced camps, warn that the new cuts will devastate already fragile food security. Despite a ceasefire, Gaza remains in crisis, with over two‑thirds of its 2.1 million residents depending on humanitarian aid. The WFP urgently seeks $450 million over the next six months to keep essential services running.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it will cut its help to Gaza, cutting the number of people served from 1.6 million to roughly 1.1 million because of a stark funding shortfall.
Under the new plan, the WFP will reduce the number of daily hot meals supplied by community kitchens from 250,000 to 150,000, and families in hard‑to‑reach areas such as near the Yellow Line will receive a meal only every other day instead of daily.
Mervat al‑Satari, a mother of five in a Khan Younis camp, described the cuts as a “disaster”, warning that the reduced rations will leave children without enough food. She said that before the war the family had its own land and fresh produce, but now relies entirely on aid.
The WFP stated that it needs $450 million over the next six months to keep its operations running. The agency has already cut cash transfers for half a million people and will reduce flour and ration deliveries to 600,000 families monthly.
Despite an agreed ceasefire a year ago, Gaza continues to endure daily Israeli strikes, with Israel tightly controlling the entry of goods. The overlap of funding cuts and ongoing conflict is pushing the territory toward famine, according to the Integrated Phase Classification report that predicts 1.4 million Palestinians could face crisis levels of food insecurity between July and December.
In the West Bank, the WFP continues to support about 200,000 Palestinians, having halved its recipient list in September. Palestinian food insecurity is rising due to Israeli settler violence and displacement, the agency said.
