WFP cuts Gaza food aid by a third, Media Office warns of “inevitable famine”
The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip warned of “catastrophic consequences” if assistance to residents is halted, after the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced cuts to aid for Gaza due to a funding shortfall.
In a statement reviewed by Al Manassa on Monday, the Media Office held the Israeli occupation responsible for what it called a “war of starvation,” the comprehensive blockade of the Strip, and the use of food and medicine as collective punishment against unarmed civilians.
The WFP announced on Monday that it would cut food and cash assistance in Gaza by about one-third because of a funding shortfall, leaving around half a million people without critical humanitarian aid.
In a press release, the WFP said it would provide food and cash assistance to 1.1 million of Gaza’s most vulnerable people starting this month, down from 1.6 million last month.
WFP assistance has served as a lifeline for up to 90% of families in Gaza over the past three years. An estimated 1.4 million people, or 67% of the Strip’s population, are experiencing acute food insecurity.
The Government Media Office issued an urgent appeal to Arab and Muslim countries and people around the world to intervene immediately and take practical steps to break the blockade on Gaza’s residents, establish land and sea aid corridors, and provide urgent funding for relief programs. It called for thousands of trucks carrying food, relief supplies and medical aid to enter the Strip to avert what it described as “an inevitable famine and an irreparable humanitarian catastrophe.”
The office said the WFP’s announcement that it was cutting assistance “portends devastating repercussions for the humanitarian situation.” It added that the move amounted to “giving the green light to accelerate famine and deepen the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe endured by our Palestinian people,” particularly among the most vulnerable groups, including children, women, patients and older people, who face the threat of dying from hunger and thirst amid the continuing genocidal war.
The office called on the United Nations and the international community to take immediate, serious action to secure the necessary funding by any means to ensure the WFP can continue its work and prevent hundreds of thousands of people from being left facing an uncertain fate.
The statement also urged the international community and the United Nations to pressure the Israeli occupation to open all border crossings and ensure the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid, enabling international organizations to carry out relief operations.
It said it was “unacceptable that the world is unable to provide the small sums needed to save lives, while billions are spent arming the occupation and supporting the killing machine.”
The WFP received less than half the funding for its Palestine operation in 2026 than in previous years. The agency urgently needs $450 million to maintain critical operations in Gaza and the West Bank over the next six months, from October 2026 to March 2027.