Gaza: Funding cuts leave half a million without food assistance

Funding shortages have forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to slash assistance to hungry families in the Gaza Strip by roughly one third – a move that will affect some 500,000 people as winter approaches, the UN agency announced on Monday.WFPsaid that its food assistance “has provided a lifeline for up to 90 per cent of families in Gaza” over the past three years.Since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas fighters, teams have reached around 1.6 million people monthly with food parcels, wheat flour, bread, hot meals, nutrition support, school snacks and cash assistance. “Improved humanitarian access and delivery of assistance since October 2025 have helped reduce food insecurity, but these gains remain fragile and could quickly be reversed if humanitarian funding continues to decline,” the agency warned.Rations, cash and hot meals reducedThis month, WFP is supporting 1.1 million of the most vulnerable people in the war-torn enclave, down from 1.6 million in September.Rations have been cut in half, meaning families will now receive one food parcel instead of two, and a smaller bag of wheat flour. The value of cash assistance given to 75,000 families has als...