The Palestinian government warns of worsening hunger as the UN food agency halves rations and seeks $450 million to sustain relief operations.
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The Palestinian government warned on 20 October that funding cuts leaving 500,000 people in Gaza without World Food Programme assistance could worsen hunger and malnutrition.
The warning followed the UN agency's decision to reduce its monthly food assistance caseload from 1.6 million people to 1.1 million because of a shortage of funding.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has also halved food rations and reduced the number of hot meals it distributes each day from 250,000 to 150,000.
Acting WFP Executive Director Carl Skau told Reuters that the cuts were driven by a lack of funding rather than reduced humanitarian needs or an inability to deliver food.
The reductions come as Gaza approaches another winter with large numbers of displaced families living in temporary shelters and relying on humanitarian assistance for essential food.
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the Palestinian cabinet appealed to the United Nations, international donors and Arab and Muslim countries to provide emergency financial support.
It warned that reduced relief programmes would disproportionately affect low-income families, widows, orphans, older people and people with disabilities.
Children and pregnant women face additional risks from worsening malnutrition, the cabinet said.
Food parcels and hot meals reduced
The WFP announced on 19 October that its food assistance in Gaza would be reduced by approximately one-third.
Families previously receiving two food parcels will now receive one, together with a smaller quantity of wheat flour.
In difficult-to-reach communities, including areas close to the line separating Israeli military-controlled territory from other parts of Gaza, hot meals will be distributed every other day rather than daily.
The agency has also reduced the value of cash assistance provided to 75,000 families.
Despite the cuts, it plans to continue supporting bakeries that supply approximately one-third of Gaza's bread, alongside nutrition programmes for 300,000 women and children.
School food programmes serving approximately 200,000 children are also continuing.
The WFP said around 1.4 million Palestinians, equivalent to 67% of Gaza's population, face crisis-level food insecurity or worse.
Of those, approximately 200,000 are experiencing emergency-level food insecurity and require immediate assistance to prevent deaths from hunger.
The agency said food insecurity had improved modestly since the October 2025 ceasefire, when around 77% of Gaza's population faced crisis-level conditions or worse.
However, those improvements remain vulnerable to declining funding and disruptions to humanitarian operations.
The WFP received less than half the funding for its Palestine operation in 2026 compared with previous years.
It now needs $450 million to sustain essential assistance in Gaza and the occupied West Bank between October 2026 and March 2027.
Cuts extend to the West Bank
Funding shortages have also affected WFP operations in the occupied West Bank, where the number of assistance recipients fell from 400,000 to 200,000 in September.
Skau said deteriorating security conditions and attacks by Israeli settlers had contributed to growing food insecurity in Palestinian communities.
The Palestinian social development minister met Skau to discuss the consequences of the reductions and efforts to secure additional funding.
The cabinet also urged Israel to open crossings and allow humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza without obstruction.
Israel maintains that its border restrictions and security controls are intended to prevent supplies from benefiting Hamas, while humanitarian organisations have repeatedly called for reliable and sustained access.
Shelter and reconstruction efforts
The Palestinian government separately reported progress in emergency shelter and housing repairs in Gaza.
According to the cabinet, government agencies and humanitarian partners have prepared 23 shelters for displaced Palestinians and distributed approximately 700 reinforced-plastic tents to farmers.
It said around 800 partially damaged homes had been repaired, allowing families to return to their properties.
Work is continuing on approximately 1,000 additional housing units in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme.
The government did not provide a completion date for those repairs.
The shelter projects remain limited compared with the scale of displacement and housing destruction across Gaza.
The cabinet also warned of continuing settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, reporting more than 350 incidents since the beginning of the olive harvest season.
It said approximately half of the olive crop had been harvested despite attacks and restrictions affecting farmers.
The WFP's immediate funding requirement remains $450 million for the six-month period ending in March 2027.
