United Nations agencies asked donors for $4.06 billion for Gaza and the West Bank in 2026, then cut food, staff and services as the money fell short, according to UN documents and news reports reviewed by The Boston Report. The appeal was 36% funded as of Nov. 8, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) showed. “More humanitarian funding is urgent,” OCHA said as heavy rain flooded shelters in Gaza, the Saudi Gazette reported Nov. 7.
Related: WFP Cuts Gaza Food Aid for 500,000 as Monitor Rafael Hayun Says Hamas Controls Aid.
What the record shows
- The cuts did not come from one UN decision. The World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN refugee agency UNRWA each made separate cuts. OCHA coordinates the overall appeal.
- The appeal came before this year’s cuts. It was published in December 2025. UNRWA’s 2026 pay and hours cuts came in January, and WFP’s largest cut came in October.
- WFP paired its cuts with requests for money. Its Sept. 1 and Oct. 19 announcements each named a dollar amount it needed.
- The agencies blame a lack of money, and OCHA also blames restrictions. Israel disputes that it restricts food.
The timeline
Each entry is labeled as an appeal, a warning, a cut or a related development.
Dec. 16, 2025 · OCHA · Appeal
The 2026 Flash Appeal sought $4.06 billion for 3 million people in Gaza and the West Bank. OCHA said aid groups faced “bureaucratic impediments, access restrictions, and anti-UN rhetoric.” The prior appeal had drawn about $1.6 billion of $4 billion, or 40%, as of Dec. 10.
Dec. 29, 2025 · United States · Related
The United States pledged $2 billion for UN humanitarian aid and said agencies must “adapt, shrink or die,” The Associated Press reported. The Palestinian territories were not on the list of recipients. Officials said they would be covered by money from President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
January 2026 · UNRWA · Cut
UNRWA announced a 20% salary cut for local staff in Gaza, reduced hours and the end of contracts for about 600 employees outside the territory, Al Jazeera reported. A letter from then-Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini cited a 2026 budget shortfall of about $220 million.
June 30, 2026 · UNRWA and UN chief · Appeal
Acting UNRWA chief Christian Saunders told a General Assembly pledging conference that the agency faced a $100 million cash shortfall, Arab News reported. Secretary-General António Guterres said staff “cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from member states.”
July 1, 2026 · Board of Peace · Related
The U.S.-led Board of Peace said UNRWA “has no place” in Gaza’s future, The Jerusalem Post reported.
July 23-24, 2026 · IPC and WFP · Warning
The global hunger monitor projected that more than 1.4 million people, or 67% of Gaza’s population, could face acute hunger by December. WFP then warned it would make much deeper cuts by October without new money, Reuters reported. It said it needed more than $420 million through year-end. A WFP official named donor fatigue as the main problem.
July 2026 · WFP · Cut
Accounts of the July cash cut differ. Reuters quoted a WFP official saying cash for 75,000 people fell 25%. A later WFP release said the cash value fell 40% for 375,000 people.
Sept. 1, 2026 · WFP · Cut and appeal
WFP said it would halve food aid in the West Bank, from 400,000 people to 200,000. The same release sought $386 million over six months for Gaza and the West Bank.
September 2026 · UNRWA · Warning
Saunders warned he would have to cut long-term services if the agency could not begin closing a $100 million shortfall within two months, Agence France-Presse reported.
Oct. 19, 2026 · WFP · Cut and appeal
WFP cut Gaza food assistance by about one-third, from 1.6 million people to 1.1 million. Rations were halved, and daily hot meals fell from 250,000 to 150,000. WFP said it needed $450 million from October through March and had received less than half its usual funding this year.
Oct. 22, 2026 · OCHA · Warning
OCHA said funding shortfalls and restrictions “have begun reversing gains” since the ceasefire. Its report said food aid partners reached 2.1 million people in January and 1.3 million in September. It expected fewer than 1 million a month from October.
October to November 2026 · UNRWA · Cut under way
Staff union leader Mustafa Al-Ghoul said UNRWA had dismissed about 1,000 staff in Gaza, Mondoweiss reported. Employees marched against job cuts on Nov. 2, AFP reported. UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told AFP that “difficult decisions may be necessary in the near future.”
Nov. 1, 2026 · Israel · Related
Israeli authorities told UN agencies that shipments from Egypt would be suspended, with some exceptions, citing smuggling concerns, OCHA reported. Food partners warned that free meal production could fall about 45% if the suspension continued.
Nov. 5-7, 2026 · OCHA · Appeal
OCHA reported a $186.5 million gap against $267.9 million in winter needs, or about 70% unfunded (TBR calculation). Gaza still needed about 121,000 tents, while about 2,800 were in stock. The agency also said Israeli authorities continued to reject timber for shelter kits.
Why the agencies say the money ran out
“This is not because the needs are going down, and it’s not because we aren’t able to bring in the food,” acting WFP chief Carl Skau said on Oct. 19, The National reported. “This is only because we have less funding.”
WFP’s Oct. 19 release did not say which donors had reduced their funding. Its emergency director attributed the gap mainly to donor fatigue in July, and Reuters reported he gave no details of what funding had been lost.
The appeal had received $1.45 billion by September, leaving a $2.62 billion gap, according to OCHA’s monitoring report. Food security was 35.6% funded.
UNRWA’s shortfall, as reported
The figures below were given at different times and may not measure the same thing.
- About $220 million: 2026 budget shortfall, January letter (Al Jazeera)
- $100 million: cash shortfall, June and September (Arab News, AFP)
- $70 million: deficit cited to the staff union in October (Mondoweiss)
- About $80 million: cash flow deficit, attributed to unnamed sources on Nov. 6 (Al-Quds)
Reports that UNRWA planned to lay off about 8,000 employees remain unconfirmed. UNRWA said it had made no final decision on staff reductions, Al-Quds reported.
What Israel, the U.S. and critics say
Israel’s Foreign Ministry says Israel does not restrict food entering Gaza and has facilitated more than 1.8 million tons since the October 2025 ceasefire, Reuters reported in July.
Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, AFP reported. A review led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna found “neutrality-related issues” but said Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its main allegation, according to AFP.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. funding model would require the UN to “cut bloat, remove duplication,” AP reported. Sami Mshasha, a former UNRWA spokesman, called the agency’s deficit “a manufactured crisis,” Mondoweiss reported. That claim is his own, and the outlet said it could not verify his related suggestion of coordination with UNRWA’s management.
What to watch
WFP’s $450 million request runs through March 2027. OCHA has warned that the next two months are critical for winter supplies. More coverage is on our United Nations page and Middle East page.
Sources
- World Food Programme: Funding cuts force WFP to drastically reduce lifesaving assistance in Gaza
- World Food Programme: Funding shortfall forces the World Food Programme to cut food assistance by half in the West Bank
- OCHA: Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2026
- OCHA: Flash Appeal Response Monitoring, September 2026
- OCHA: Humanitarian Situation Report, 5 November 2026
- OCHA: Humanitarian Situation Report, 22 October 2026
- OCHA: Humanitarian Situation Update #347
- Reuters via Al-Monitor: WFP warns of deeper cuts in Gaza aid due to donor fatigue
- The National: World Food Programme to cut aid to half a million people in Gaza amid funding shortfall
- The Associated Press via News4JAX: US pledges $2 billion for UN humanitarian aid as Trump warns agencies must ‘adapt or die’
- Arab News: UNRWA warns of breaking point as funding crisis threatens mandate to help Palestine refugees
- Al Jazeera: UNRWA staff cuts deepen in Gaza as Israel restricts critical aid access
- Agence France-Presse via 24 News: UNRWA’s Gaza employees march against job cuts
- The Jerusalem Post: Board of Peace says UNRWA ‘has no place’ in Gaza Strip
- Mondoweiss: Amid deepening financial crisis, UNRWA conducts mass layoffs in Gaza
- Al-Quds: UNRWA hints at reducing its staff and confirms facing an unprecedented financial crisis
- Saudi Gazette: Heavy rains flood Gaza shelters, putting displaced families at immediate risk: UN
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