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The World Food Programme announced this week that funding shortages will force it to cut assistance to nearly 500,000 people in Gaza over the coming weeks. WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told NPR that the reduction stems neither from falling needs nor delivery problems but solely from a lack of resources for what he called a massive and expensive monthly operation that has reached 2 million people. Skau described conditions on the ground by saying life is absolutely brutal in Gaza and warned that winter will only increase requirements for emergency support to protect recent gains against hunger. The agency has maintained large-scale distributions even after a ceasefire took hold last year but now faces unavoidable choices as donor contributions lag.
More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population or nearly 1.4 million people continue to experience crisis levels of acute food insecurity according to Integrated Food Security Phase Classification data. A UNICEF report published on October 16 found that acute malnutrition rates have fallen since the October 2025 ceasefire yet only one in three children under two achieves minimum dietary diversity while chronic malnutrition affects one in eight children under five. The World Food Programme’s own annual country report for 2025 noted that its operations helped families average two meals per day by December after famine had been declared the previous August but added that only 40 percent of planned cash transfers could be completed because of funding limits. These fragile improvements now stand at risk as additional cuts take effect.
Israeli authorities halted commercial shipments into Gaza last week amid a dispute over fees between Palestinian merchants and Hamas Al Jazeera reported on October 18. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs data shows that food prices in Gaza averaged 204 percent above pre-October 2023 levels as of September with staples such as flour now costing up to 80 shekels in some markets. Families have begun stockpiling what they can amid fears of further shortages and price spikes that compound the pressure on households already dependent on humanitarian aid. The halt has disrupted a vital supplement to WFP distributions at a moment when the agency itself must scale back.
The World Food Programme reduced the cash value of its assistance by 40 percent for 375,000 people in Gaza during July and has signaled that deeper measures will follow without fresh funding according to its September 1 statement. The same statement detailed a parallel halving of West Bank food assistance from 400,000 to 200,000 beneficiaries as needs there doubled since 2023 to reach an estimated 900,000 food-insecure people. WFP Country Director for Palestine Shaun Hughes said at the time that the agency requires an additional 386 million dollars over the next six months to support 2 million food-insecure people across both territories and urged the international community to step up before conditions deteriorate further. Reuters reporting from that period highlighted donor fatigue and shifting government priorities toward domestic spending as key factors behind the shortfall.
Foreign aid contributions from major Western donors including the United States have fallen sharply since last year a pattern that has affected multiple humanitarian operations in the region according to Reuters. The World Food Programme along with partners has delivered more than 210,000 metric tons of food aid through various corridors since early 2025 yet persistent constraints have limited the ability to meet full dietary needs. UNICEF has cautioned that gains against malnutrition could unravel if crossings remain restricted and assistance levels drop noting that stagnant water in displacement sites already raises risks of disease alongside hunger. Sustained support is required to prevent a reversal that could push up to 90 percent of Gaza’s population into high levels of acute food insecurity by the end of the year UN assessments have warned.
WFP operations in 2025 included supporting bakeries producing thousands of bread bundles daily and expanding cash and voucher programmes that reached vulnerable households across Gaza and the West Bank its annual report stated. These efforts formed part of a broader response that also saw the agency take on additional caseloads after other organisations faced their own restrictions. The current round of cuts arrives as the territory enters a fourth winter with many families in damaged shelters or tents according to separate Norwegian Refugee Council figures that show only 34 percent of required shelter funding secured. International appeals continue for renewed contributions to avert further deterioration in what remains one of the most severe humanitarian crises.
