WFP warns funding shortfalls will cut food assistance in Gaza

An Agency official representing the World Food Programme (WFP) said funding restrictions will force a reduction in food assistance across Gaza beginning Oct. 1, 2026, trimming monthly support from about 1.5 million people to roughly 1.1 million.

The official said the cuts will most affect people who receive distributed food: that group would shrink from about 1.1 million recipients to roughly 600,000. The speaker also described WFP’s hot-meal operations for families leaving areas along the "yellow line," the Israeli control line, saying WFP currently provides about 250,000 hot meals per day and expects that to fall to about 150,000 per day on Oct. 1. "This is not a reflection of needs. It is difficult choices that we're being forced to make because of the funding shortages," the official said.

The announcement framed the reductions as the result of funding limits rather than changes in humanitarian need. The official did not specify which donors or funding channels had imposed the restrictions or whether additional contributions could avert the cuts. The remarks consisted of an operational update describing who will be affected and how distributions and hot-meal services will be scaled back; no formal remedies or timelines for restoring full assistance were provided.