By Zoila Palma: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will suspend monthly assistance to approximately 500,000 people in Gaza because of a funding shortfall, the agency announced on Monday.
The reduction means that about 1.1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, will continue receiving monthly food or cash assistance, down from the 1.5 million to 1.8 million people reached each month since the October 2025 ceasefire.
Shaun Hughes, the WFP’s country director, told AFP in East Jerusalem that the assistance had been a lifeline for families struggling to survive. He stressed that the cuts were not caused by a lack of humanitarian access to deliver food, but by insufficient funding. The agency’s decision comes as many Palestinians continue to face displacement, insecurity and difficult living conditions, with the United Nations estimating that 1.2 million people have lost their homes.
Under the revised assistance programme, families receiving food will get one parcel instead of two, along with a smaller bag of wheat flour.
Meanwhile, approximately 75,000 families receiving cash assistance will see their monthly payments reduced from 1,250 shekels, about US$400, to 750 shekels, or roughly US$240.
Hughes said conditions in Gaza remained severe, with daily airstrikes, continued displacement and widespread homelessness.
Recent assessments indicate that 1.4 million people, or about two-thirds of the population, remain acutely food insecure and require assistance to survive.
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