The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on October 19, 2026, it would cease monthly food assistance for 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip, decreasing the total number of people receiving WFP aid from 1.6 million to 1.1 million.

This reduction deepens an existing humanitarian crisis where approximately 1.4 million people, two-thirds of Gaza's population, already face crisis levels of acute food insecurity. The approaching winter months are expected to increase the need for humanitarian aid and funding.

Aid Reductions Take Effect

Shaun Hughes, WFP Country Director for Palestine, confirmed the cuts on October 19, 2026, stating, "As of this month, we're now cutting half a million people from the number of people that we're assisting". This move brings the number of people receiving WFP aid in Gaza, either in food or cash assistance, down to 1.1 million.

Beyond cutting 500,000 individuals from direct food aid, WFP's revised plan includes a 40% reduction in cash assistance for 75,000 families. The plan also changes the provision of hot meals for residents in hard-to-reach areas, shifting from daily to every-other-day delivery. Funding shortfalls necessitated significant scale-backs starting October 1. These projections included a reduction in the number of people receiving direct food from 1.1 million to 600,000, and a decrease in daily hot meals from 250,000 to 150,000. Until August 2026, WFP had supported an average of 1.5 million people in Gaza every month.

Earlier Warnings Ignored

Hughes had issued warnings on September 1, 2026, highlighting a need for $386 million to avoid further aid reductions across Gaza and the West Bank over the subsequent six months. At that time, WFP had already reduced cash assistance for 75,000 families in Gaza in July 2026. Aid to the West Bank was also cut by half, affecting 200,000 people. Hughes warned on September 1, 2026, that without continued humanitarian food aid, up to 90% of the population could face high levels of acute food insecurity by the end of 2026.

WFP Cites Donor Cuts

Carl Skau, WFP Acting Executive Director, attributed the funding crisis to a reduction in contributions from traditional donors, including the United States and European countries. He noted this decrease comes at a time when humanitarian needs are escalating globally due to concurrent crises in Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen. Skau emphasized that the reason for the cuts was not a lack of ability to deliver food or a decrease in need, but solely a lack of funds.

WFP's September 2026 market monitoring indicated the severity of the situation, reporting that 44% of Gazan households could not afford basic food products due to high prices. The monitoring also found that 44% of Palestinians had experienced hunger at least once in the preceding 30 days.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the specific amounts of reduced contributions from individual donor countries, including the United States and European nations, nor the exact timeline of these reductions beyond WFP's general statements.