Published on: 2026-10-21
Source: United Nations – Объединенные Нации –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
October 19, 2026 Humanitarian aid
Due to lack of funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) is forced to reduce aid to families in the Gaza Strip by about one third – this move will affect around half a million people ahead of the coming winter.
A statement published by WFP on Monday said that over the past three years, the organization’s food aid served as a “lifeline for 90 percent of families in Gaza.” After the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in October 2025, WFP teams helped approximately 1.6 million people survive monthly by delivering food parcels, wheat flour, bread, hot meals, school breakfasts, and cash assistance.
“Expansion of humanitarian access after October 2025 helped reduce the level of food insecurity in the sector, but the situation remains unstable and can quickly worsen if funding continues to decline,” warned the WFP.
Reduction of rations and monetary payments
This month, WFP plans to support 1.1 million of the most vulnerable residents of the war-torn enclave – compared to 1.6 million in September. Rations have been halved: families will now receive one food parcel instead of two and a smaller bag of wheat flour. The amount of cash assistance has been reduced, and the number of hot meals distributed daily across Gaza will decrease from 250,000 to 150,000.
“Families living in hard-to-reach areas, including zones located along the Israeli military control line, will receive hot meals every other day, rather than daily,” the WFP reported.
The agency is still able to support bakeries that provide one-third of Gaza’s bread needs, supply food to 300,000 women and children, and deliver school breakfasts to 200,000 students.
Critical moment
Cuts are happening at a critical moment: more than 80 percent of Gaza’s population remains unemployed, and many families cannot afford fresh produce or protein-rich food even when it is available.
About 200,000 Palestinians are still in a state of emergency and urgently need food aid. Meanwhile, only one in five children receives sufficiently diverse nutrition, and access to medical care and other vital services remains limited.
The West Bank also needs help
WFP emphasized that with winter approaching, additional resources are urgently needed to maintain the delivery of emergency food assistance, provide critical engineering support, and prevent malnutrition among young children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The volume of funding for humanitarian operations in Palestine in 2026 is less than half the level of previous years, and the agency urgently requires 450 million dollars to maintain key operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
WFP noted that the lack of funds affected its work on the West Bank as well: in September, the number of aid recipients was halved—from 400,000 to 200,000 people.
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