WFP Cuts Gaza Aid for 500,000 Amid Funding Shortfall

The World Food Programme is reducing monthly food assistance in Gaza from 1.6 million people to 1.1 million, leaving about 500,000 without that support, as it cites a funding shortfall. The agency said the cuts are being made despite continuing food needs and do not reflect a reduction in need or a lack of access to deliver aid. The WFP said families who remain on its food-assistance rolls will receive smaller rations, with one parcel instead of two and a smaller quantity of wheat flour. Monthly provision of flour and ration boxes will fall from 1.1 million people to 600,000, according to the agency. The agency’s community-kitchen output is also declining, from 250,000 hot meals a day to 150,000. In some hard-to-reach areas, families will receive meals every other day rather than daily. Cash assistance is being reduced for 75,000 families; the reported monthly payment will fall from 1,250 to 750 shekels per family. WFP says it received less than half its usual funding for Palestinian operations in 2026 and needs $450 million to maintain critical operations in Gaza and the West Bank over the next six months, through March 2027. Shaun Hughes, the agency’s Palestine director,...