While Israeli hostages of Hamas terrorists were consistently put on starvation diets of little or no food or water at all and even a quarter of a pita or seawater, a new study found that Israeli authorities allowed in a wide variety and more-than-adequate amount of food for Gaza’s 1.8 million people.
The data, covering the period between January and July 2024 was shown to exceed international caloric and nutritional standards. Israel had no responsibility or ability to influence the food’s distribution – Hamas constantly interfered by stealing supplies and selling them back to civilians, thereby obstructing equitable distribution. The authors called for better coordination among humanitarian agencies and real-time tracking to ensure that aid reaches those in need.
The newly published study in the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research entitled “Food Supplied to Gaza During Seven Months of the Hamas-Israel War” provides an objective, data-driven analysis of food supplies delivered to Gaza over the first seven months of the war.
Conducted by a multi-disciplinary Israeli research team and peer-reviewed by an objective foreign team of experts, the study evaluates the quantity and nutritional value of food shipments and their compliance with international humanitarian standards. It was the first detailed attempt to estimate the nutritional adequacy of the food supplied to the Gaza Strip during the war.
The war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7, 2023, when the murderous terrorists launched a massive, coordinated attack on civilian communities in southern Israel. Over 1,200 civilians, including babies, women, and elderly people, were murdered, and hundreds were abducted into Gaza.
Aid delivery in Gaza
Anti-Israel organizations accused Israel of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, claiming that a constricted flow of humanitarian and commercial imports far below dietary requirements would worsen the food availability situation with continued restrictions on food imports.
However, the study found that a total of 478,229 metric tons of food donated by international organizations were supplied to Gaza over the seven-month period. The per capita daily nutritional supply averaged 3,004 kcal of energy (well above the Sphere association’s humanitarian standard of 2,100 kcal/day); 98 grams of protein (13% of total energy); 61 gr. of fat (18% of total energy); and 23 mg. of iron (below the recommended minimum).
The Sphere Handbook is the organization’s flagship publication, by aid workers who wanted to improve the level and approach of emergency response. The handbook comprises the Humanitarian Charter, the Protection Principles, the Core Humanitarian Standard, and minimum humanitarian standards in four vital areas of response: water supply, sanitation, and hygiene promotion; food security and nutrition; shelter and settlement; and health.
The handbook is one of the most widely known and internationally recognized tools for the delivery of quality humanitarian response. National and international NGOs, UN agencies, and governmental authorities across the globe use its guidance when planning, delivering, and evaluating humanitarian operations.
With the exception of February 2024, when a decrease in supply was noted, food deliveries showed a steady increase over the months studied. Even after adjusting for projected food losses, the energy, protein, and fat content of the food met or exceeded the Sphere humanitarian standards for food security and nutrition. The only shortfall observed was in dietary iron levels due to the selection of foodstuffs sent by international organizations.
While the study confirms that caloric needs were met, it emphasizes that food deliveries alone do not guarantee food security. The key challenges preventing equitable access to food included logistical obstacles and security risks in a conflict zone and Hamas’s interference in its distribution.
The foods that were sent included grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, oils, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, and eggs; sweets (cakes, cookies, candies, soft drinks, and chocolate); and snacks – plus cooked meals and baby food, nutritional supplementation, and infant formula for babies aged from six months to a year.
The study highlights the urgent need for improved coordination between international aid organizations and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) – which implements the Israeli government’s civilian policy within the territories of Judea and Samaria – to ensure that food reaches the most vulnerable populations.
The study authors stressed the necessity of continuous, systematic, and verifiable assessments of food availability and real-time tracking of aid distribution to prevent food diversion and ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches its intended recipients. The study analyzed food supplied via Israeli border crossings and air drops between January and July 2024, using data from COGAT, which itemized daily food shipments by type and estimated weight and did not influence the Israeli study.
It underwent rigorous peer review and was led by Prof. Aron Troen from the Hebrew University (HU), Prof. Ronit Endevelt from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa, and the Israeli Health Ministry. Co-authors included Prof. Dorit Nitzan from the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beersheba and postdoctoral researcher Naomi Fliss-Isakov from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Health Ministry, under the guidance of epidemiologist Prof. Gilad Twig of TAU.
Troen, who was born in Chicago and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford, heads HU’s nutrition and brain health lab and teaches in the School of Nutrition Science and the School of Public Health. He conducts research that clarifies the basic biological connection between dietary quality and brain health.
He said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that when his team launched the study eight months ago, they wanted it to be published as fast as possible. They sent it to an Israeli journal because they feared a “hidden boycott” since the war began, as many medical journals have shown prejudice against Israel and printed falsehoods. Others refused to say a good word about Israel or declined to “take sides.” However, the editor-in-chief of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine conducted an unofficial review and validated all data, Troen said.
“The world should be demanding accountability from Hamas,” he said. “I personally hope that we’ll find elements in civil society there who want to improve life there and live in peace with Israel, which was not responsible for selecting the types of food sent by dozens of organizations, from Arab groups to Japanese donors.”
Endevelt added that even though it was published in an English-language Israeli journal and initiated by the Health Ministry in Jerusalem and Israeli academics, it was very widely read and its data accepted worldwide.
“We could get no reliable data on the health of Gazans who were not terrorists. Hamas terrorists ate very well, but they cruelly ate opposite the Israeli hostages, who were often given moldy food and even seawater to drink.”
The research team urges health professionals, humanitarian agencies, and international partners to enhance coordination and implement evidence-based interventions to ensure food security and equitable distribution. They stress that, despite the ongoing conflict, collaborative efforts are critical to improving nutritional security for Gaza’s civilian population.
