Food supplied to Gaza during seven months of the Hamas-Israel war.

Abstract

Background: The ongoing Hamas-Israel war has put the civilian population in Gaza at risk of severe food and nutrition insecurity. Our goal was to provide objective, verifiable data to ascertain amounts and nutritional content of food supplied to Gaza through Israeli border crossings from January to July 2024. We aimed to assess their compliance with Sphere international humanitarian standards for food security and nutrition maintenance in crisis affected populations.

Methods: We obtained the registry of all food supplied to Gaza via air drops and land crossings from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) from January to July 2024. This registry itemizes daily food shipments, their items and estimated weights. Food items in shipments were categorized, quantified, assessed and summed for energy (kcal), protein (g), fat (g), iron (mg) content, based on food labels and composition tables. We then calculated supply per capita per day supplied to the the Gaza Strip, according to the most recent population census of Gaza. Finally, we compared it to the Sphere standards for population food security.

Results: Adjusting for projected food losses, a net total of 478,229 metric tons of food was supplied to Gaza over the seven consecutively studied months. The average amount of energy available per person per day was 3,004 kcal, with 98 g of protein (13% of energy), 61 g of fat (18% of energy), and 23 mg of iron. Except for February, when entries dropped from January, there was a steady increase in the tonnage, energy, macronutrients and iron content of donated foods supplied to Gaza registered by COGAT. The amounts of energy, protein, and fat, but not dietary iron, in food crossing the border into Gaza consistently exceeded Sphere standards after making conservative adjustment for high food loss and the age distribution of the Gazan population.

Conclusions: This study assessed food deliveries by type, amount and nutrient composition, supplied to Gaza from January to July 2024. We found that, except in February, food crossing the borders into Gaza exceeded per capita minimal requirements for humanitarian aid. While reliable data do not exist for critical dimensions of food access and consumption across Gaza, these estimates suggest that adequate amounts of nutritious food were being transported into the Gaza Strip during most of the 1st half of 2024. We propose that with increased cooperation of all partners and shared efforts to overcome barriers, communication and data sharing, the UN Food Security Cluster, COGAT and humanitarian assistance agencies can develop a comprehensive, continually updated database to gauge food availability, access, nutritional value, and gaps to address, especially in the areas most disrupted by conflict in Gaza. This will also help ensure that food donations supplied to Gaza reach populations in greatest need.