Monthly recipients fall by a third

The World Food Programme said on Monday, 19 October 2026, that a shortage of money forces it to scale back humanitarian operations in Gaza. The agency expects 500,000 fewer people to receive food aid each month. The BBC reports that the total number helped will drop by about a third, from 1.6 million to 1.1 million. In a statement, the WFP called the decision a choice it must make so that its resources last as long as possible, and it warned that half a million people will lose access to food assistance because of funding gaps.

Before cut1,600,000

After cut1,100,000

Before cut

1600000 people

After cut

1100000 people

Data from the article text

Smaller meals and longer gaps between them

Community kitchens will serve 150,000 hot meals a day, down from 250,000, according to the BBC. Families in hard-to-reach areas, including places near the so-called Yellow Line that marks the edge of Israel's military control, will receive a meal every second day instead of daily. Cash transfers have already been reduced since July for about half a million people, which leaves them less money for food in local markets. The number of Gazans receiving flour and ration boxes will fall from 1.1 million to 600,000 each month. Displaced residents at al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis, told the BBC that smaller portions would hit them hard, since the kitchen meals were already too small to feed their families.

Before cut250,000

After cut150,000

Before cut

250000 meals per day

After cut

150000 meals per day

Data from the article text

Funding gap and the ceasefire backdrop

The WFP received less than half the funding it had in earlier years for its Palestinian operations in 2026. The agency says it needs $450m (£338m) to keep critical operations running over the next six months. Shaun Hughes, the WFP director for the Palestinian territories, told the BBC that the cuts are driven by money, not by falling needs or a lack of access, and that the agency does have access. Hughes also told AFP that this is not the moment to look away from what is happening in Gaza. A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was agreed a year ago, but conditions remain grim, with no reconstruction, little recovery, and Israel tightly controlling the entry of goods through crossings.

Hunger still widespread

Nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million residents remain displaced, and two-thirds rely on food aid to survive, according to the BBC. A July 2026 report from the UN food watchdog counted 1.2 million people in crisis-level food insecurity and more than 200,000 in emergency, the phase just before famine on the IPC scale. The same report found fewer people were malnourished than before, though hunger remains a serious problem. The reductions arrive as the cold season sets in, while families are still trying to put food on the table.