What does it mean to "cut aid"?

Solution 1:

Those are actually very different phrases. The first phrase is using "cut" as a verb, meaning essentially to get rid of something - and using "aid" as a noun indicating essentially money. The second phrase uses "Cuts" as a plural noun indicating something that has essentially been gotten rid of, and uses "aid" as a VERB indicating that the plural noun (cuts) were helping the rebels.