{"id":814,"date":"2026-10-19T10:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aldameer.org\/en\/?p=814"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:00:27","slug":"al-dameer-the-world-food-programme-wfp-suspension-of-food-assistance-to-half-a-million-people-in-gaza-threatens-food-security-and-deepens-the-humanitarian-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aldameer.org\/en\/?p=814","title":{"rendered":"Al-Dameer: The World Food Programme (WFP) Suspension of Food Assistance to Half a Million People in Gaza Threatens Food Security and Deepens the Humanitarian Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">19\/10\/2026<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Press Release<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Al-Dameer: The World Food Programme (WFP) Suspension of Food Assistance to Half a Million People in Gaza Threatens Food Security and Deepens the Humanitarian Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights \u2013 Gaza: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today, Monday, 19 October 2026, its decision to suspend monthly assistance to 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip due to a funding shortage. This step threatens to deprive them of the monthly assistance on which they rely to secure the minimum of their food needs, at a time when the humanitarian and living conditions of the population remain extremely difficult, and hundreds of thousands of displaced people and affected families depend on humanitarian assistance to survive.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">According to data announced by the World Food Programme, the number of beneficiaries receiving monthly food assistance will be reduced from approximately 1.6 million to 1.1 million people, alongside a 50% reduction in food rations and a reduction in cash assistance provided to 75,000 families. Daily hot meals will also decrease from 250,000 to 150,000 meals, while some families in hard-to-reach areas are forced to make do with just one hot meal every two days. These figures reflect the widening gap between growing humanitarian needs and the resources available to respond to them.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">These cuts come at an extremely critical time. For the past three years, the Programme\u2019s assistance has served as a lifeline for up to 90% of families in Gaza. Although the ceasefire announced in October 2025 has allowed for a limited improvement in humanitarian access, this improvement remains fragile and vulnerable to rapid deterioration. Indicators reveal the scale of the danger, as approximately 1.4 million people, representing 67% of the population, are experiencing acute food insecurity at Crisis level or worse, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). This includes approximately 200,000 people in the \u201cEmergency\u201d phase, which requires immediate assistance to prevent deaths caused by hunger. Only one in five children receives a sufficiently diverse diet, and access to healthcare, water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies remains limited. Unemployment has exceeded 80% of the population, leaving many families unable to purchase fresh or protein-rich food, even when it is available in markets. These developments coincide with cuts to the Programme\u2019s assistance and a decline in the number of meals provided by the World Central Kitchen, further narrowing the last remaining food safety net for poor and displaced families. With the approaching winter season, bringing cold, rain, and deteriorating shelter conditions, the risks of malnutrition and disease among young children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers are further compounded.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Al-Dameer Association stresses that the direct consequences of reducing food assistance fall on the population, many of whom have lost their sources of income, homes, and the basic necessities of life, and have become unable to provide food for their families regularly. Reducing food rations, cash assistance, and hot meals also places families with children, women, older persons, and sick people in a severe and life-threatening situation, given their limited ability to purchase food and meet their basic needs.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Al-Dameer Association emphasizes that the right to adequate food is a fundamental human right, closely linked to the rights to life, health, and human dignity. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees \u201cthe right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family,\u201d including adequate food, and obliges States to take the necessary measures to combat hunger. Funding crises must not become an additional factor exacerbating the deprivation of the population of their basic needs, nor should civilians be left to face hunger amid the continuing effects of war, displacement, and deteriorating living conditions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Accordingly, Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights calls upon:<\/p>\n<ol dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>The World Food Programme, United Nations agencies, and humanitarian organizations to intensify efforts to secure the urgent funding necessary to ensure the continuation of food assistance, cash assistance, and hot meals, and to work to avoid reductions that threaten the population\u2019s basic needs.<\/li>\n<li>Donor countries, the international community, and the mediators guaranteeing the ceasefire to fulfil their humanitarian obligations, ensure funding and the entry of humanitarian assistance, and not allow Palestinian families living under harsh humanitarian conditions to bear the consequences of the international funding shortfall.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights \u2013 Gaza<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>19\/10\/2026 Press Release Al-Dameer: The World Food Programme (WFP) Suspension of Food Assistance to Half a Million People in Gaza [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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