The U.N. World Food Programme has reduced the number of people receiving assistance in Gaza from 1.6 million to 1.1 million, leaving half a million people without support as funding shortages deepen ahead of winter.
WFP acting Executive Director Carl Skau described the cuts on Oct. 19 at a briefing for U.N. correspondents after visiting the Palestinian territories, The Associated Press reported.
Smaller Rations and Fewer Hot Meals
The agency said in a statement that the number of people reached by its Gaza assistance program had fallen by about a third in October. Families receiving food aid will now get one food parcel instead of two, along with a smaller bag of wheat flour.
Daily hot meals have been cut to 150,000 from 250,000. In hard-to-reach areas, including those near the line of Israeli military control, families will receive meals every other day instead of daily.
In the West Bank, WFP had already halved the number of people receiving assistance in September, reducing it to 200,000 from 400,000.
$450 Million Needed for Six Months
WFP is seeking $450 million to sustain operations in Gaza and the West Bank from October 2026 through March 2027.
The agency estimates that about 1.4 million people in Gaza, or 67% of the population, face acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse. About 200,000 are experiencing emergency conditions requiring immediate assistance.
For now, WFP is maintaining support for bakeries that supply a third of Gaza’s bread needs, as well as nutrition programs for women and children.
Source: Vesti Baku.