WFP Says It’s ‘Drastically Reducing’ Aid To Gaza as Israel Continues Daily Attacks

The UN’s World Food Program said on Monday that it was being forced to “drastically reduce” aid to Gaza due to funding shortfalls, a statement that came as Israel continued its relentless attacks across the besieged Palestinian territory. The WFP said the funding cuts will reduce the number of people in Gaza it supports with cash and food aid from 1.6 million to 1.5 million, and that it is cutting food rations in half and reducing hot meals from 250,000 to 150,000 per day. “Families living in hard-to-reach areas, including near the yellow line of Israeli military control, will receive a hot meal every other day instead of daily,” the WFP said. Citing data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the WFP said that an estimated 1.4 million people, or 67% of Gaza’s population, are experiencing acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse. Palestinian children wait to receive food from a soup kitchen funded by the World Food Program, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, October 18, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa The WFP also said that it was forced to reduce assistance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and that it would need $450 million to “maintain critical operations in Gaza and the West Bank over the next six months.” The WFP announcement came after Israel halted the shipment of commercial goods into Gaza last week, cutting off another supply of food and other vital goods. Israel claimed the decision was made on behalf of Gaza merchants who dispute a dispute with Hamas, but Palestinians involved in importing goods into Gaza denied that claim, saying it was a unilateral Israeli decision. The Israeli military’s occupation authority, COGAT, said on Monday that the shipment of commercial goods into Gaza would gradually resume, though it said it wouldn’t allow merchants paying any fee to Hamas to import goods, suggesting it will keep tight control over the shipments. Also on Monday, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that two children were killed by an Israeli drone strike near Khan Younis, southern Gaza, marking the second day in a row that the IDF killed at least two children in the Strip. A third Palestinian was also killed by an Israeli drone attack in Gaza City. Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily update on Monday that at least four Palestinians were killed and 22 were injured by Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours. Since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed in October 2025, the IDF has killed at least 1,522 Palestinians and wounded 5,421. If you liked this article, please support Antiwar.com. We are 100% reader-supported.